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Southwest Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation company history timeline

1938

1938 DEMCO was established as a not-for-profit membership corporation.

1943

1943 Service was extended to Ascension Parish.

1944

1944 Service was extended to East Feliciana and Tangipahoa Parishes.

1957

1957 Hurricane Audrey slammed into the Louisiana coast, causing millions of dollars in damage and claiming 425 lives.

1958

The building boom of postwar decades and the tremendous growth of the oil and gas industry in Texas and Oklahoma helped CSW, SWEPCO's parent company, reach almost $200 million in annual sales by 1958.

1964

In 1964, SWEPCO completed its Wilkes Power Plant, which increased the company's capacity to generate electricity from natural gas.

1974

1974 Approximately 12,000 DEMCO members lost power due to Hurricane Carmen's 100+ mile per hour winds.

1975

1975 Branch offices in Denham Springs and Zachary were opened.

1979

1979 Branch offices in Ascension Parish and St Francisville were opened, ranking DEMCO among the top six fastest growing Rural Electric Cooperatives in America.

1992

1992 Hurricane Andrew, with winds up to 150 miles per hour, caused nearly $2.5 million in damage to DEMCO's system.

1994

1994 DEMCO's wholesale power supplier, Cajun Electric Power Cooperative, Inc., filed a petition to reorganize its debts and seek protection under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code.

1996

In 1996, these four electric utilities generated 63 percent of CSW's total revenues and 57 percent of its earnings.

1997

1997 DEMCO's rates were among the lowest in the area at $69 per 1,000 kilowatt hours.

SWEPCO faced competitive bids and court delays, however, and no resolution had been reached by the summer of 1997.

Moreover, the company also reflected the interests of CSW in developing new technologies. For example, in 1997, the company began providing around-the-clock, seven-day-a-week access to its service representatives, facilitating not just outage and emergency reporting but all other kinds of service formerly limited to "regular" business hours.

1998

1998 DEMCO celebrated its 60 year anniversary.

1999

1999 A global settlement was reached in the Cajun Electric case, ending one of the longest-running utility bankruptcy cases in US history.

2005

2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit Louisiana and dramatically affected the entire DEMCO service territory.

2008

2008 Hurricanes Gustav and Ike delivered what was considered by many the worst natural disaster to strike the Baton Rouge area in recorded history.

2013

2013 DEMCO celebrated its 75th year of providing reliable service to its members.

2016

2016 DEMCO members experienced historic flooding with over 100,000 structures impacted by flood waters.

2020

2020 Hurricane Delta struck the DEMCO system in October.

2021

2021 At the time of its occurrence, Hurricane Ida was the worst natural disaster to hit the cooperative.

2021 Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc on electric distribution systems throughout the south.

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Founded
1937
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Headquarters
Lafayette, LA
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