SR812: SR812 GreyStone Power Corporation; recognize

26 LC 129 1171 Senate Resolution 812 By: Senators Anavitarte of the 31st, Bearden of the 30th, Brass of the 6th and James of the 28th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending GreyStone Power Corporation for 90 y ears of making life1 better in the communities it serves; and for other purposes.2 WHEREAS, GreyStone Power Corporation is a member-owned, not-for -profit electric3 cooperative that serves more than 135,000 members in Bartow, Ca rroll, Cobb, Coweta,4 Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, and Paulding counties; and5 WHEREAS, GreyStone Power Corporation was founded as the Farmers Electrical6 Association on August 24, 1936, in Douglas County, Georgia; and7 WHEREAS, the communities the Farmers Electrical Association ser ved did not have8 electrical service due to the estimated cost of $1,500 per mile for construction of power lines9 in rural areas; and10 WHEREAS, the Farmers Electrical Association secured an $83,000 loan from the federal11 Rural Electrification Administration in September 1936 to construct 83 miles of power lines,12 connecting 320 members in the original four-county service area; and13 S. R. 812 - 1 - 26 LC 129 1171 WHEREAS, the board of directors officially changed the name of the cooperative to Douglas14 County Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) on June 30, 1937; and15 WHEREAS, cooperative employees became experts in the use of new electrical appliances16 in order to teach members how to use electrical appliances; and17 WHEREAS, the cooperative's infrastructure became another import ant facet in ensuring18 success does not depend on one's zip code, with the signing of a contract with Bell Telephone19 Company in 1952 to bring telephone service to rural areas; and20 WHEREAS, in continuing the mission to better serve its employees and members, Douglas21 County EMC worked with Georgia EMC, the statewide EMC associati on, to form a22 statewide federal credit union in the late 1960s; and23 WHEREAS, the EMC moved toward system automation in 1983 with th e use of the new24 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system in order to res tore power more quickly25 after outages and increase safety protocols for employees; and26 WHEREAS, the membership voted to change the name of the coopera tive to GreyStone27 Power Corporation on October 4, 1988; and28 WHEREAS, in conjunction with Jackson EMC and Walton EMC, GreyStone Power founded29 EMC Security to provide security and fire protection in 2006; and30 WHEREAS, the cooperative recognized that the digital divide in west Georgia needed to be31 addressed and founded GreyStone Connect, a broadband subsidiary , to bring high-speed32 internet access to its members in 2024; and33 S. R. 812 - 2 - 26 LC 129 1171 WHEREAS, as of January 2026, GreyStone has energized more than 7,800 miles of line,34 serving more than 155,000 meters and 135,000 members; and35 WHEREAS, GreyStone Power's goal is to make life better in the c ommunities it serves,36 which has been accomplished through millions in charitable giving, $205 million returned37 in capital credits to its membership, and volunteer efforts of its employees in the eight-county38 service area. 39 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body40 recognize and commend GreyStone Power Corporation for 90 years of making life better in41 the communities it serves.42 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed43 to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to GreyStone Power44 Corporation.45 S. R. 812 - 3 -