When severe weather tears through a community, the first question from members is often simple: When will the lights come back on?

The answer to this question can sometimes be difficult to answer when the storm first hits. When the damage is severe enough, electric cooperatives like Southern Indiana Power look to others for mutual aid assistance. Cooperative Principle #6, “Cooperation Among Cooperatives,” ensures that a network of cooperatives stands together in times of need. This principle emphasizes that cooperatives serve their members most effectively by working together through local, regional, and national structures. A recent example involving Southern Indiana Power and Tishomingo County Electric Power Association in Iuka, Mississippi, shows exactly how that principle comes to life.

Following a winter ice storm in northern Mississippi, Tishomingo County Electric Power Association faced the urgent task of restoring power to its members. Such situations often require more manpower and specialized equipment than a single cooperative can quickly mobilize.

Southern Indiana Power responded by sending a four-man line crew. Jim Applegate, Jarrett Hawhee, Eric Faulkenberg, and Max Rickleman headed south to Iuka, Mississippi, to assist with the outage restoration efforts. While separated by several hundred miles, the two cooperatives share a common mission: delivering reliable electricity to their member-owners. By stepping in to help, Southern Indiana Power demonstrated that cooperative membership extends beyond local service territory-it is part of a broader network committed to mutual support.

This kind of collaboration is not random or improvised; it is a well-established system within the electric cooperative community. Our statewide cooperative, Indiana Electric Cooperatives, organizes mutual aid efforts for both in-state and out-of-state storm events. In this event, the Southern Indiana Power crew joined forces with crews from Dubois REC, WIN Energy, Clark County REMC, and Daviess-Martin REMC. These crews are trained to operate across different territories, and cooperatives maintain relationships that enable rapid deployment during emergencies. Whether the need arises in Indiana, Mississippi, or anywhere in between, cooperatives stand ready to assist one another.

For the members of Tishomingo County Electric Power Association, the arrival of out-of-state crews means faster restoration times and a quicker return to normalcy. For Southern Indiana Power, it’s an opportunity to uphold cooperative values in a tangible and meaningful way. For the cooperative network as a whole, it reinforces a powerful idea: no cooperative stands alone.

That mutual benefit is at the heart of Principle #6. The stronger the network, the stronger each individual cooperative. And the stronger each cooperative is, the more resilient the entire system is.

In a time when many industries prioritize competition, electric cooperatives continue to prioritize cooperation.
Principle #6 is more than a guideline-it is a commitment to solidarity, resilience, and shared purpose.

The connection between Southern Indiana Power and Tishomingo County Electric Power Association is a reminder that cooperation among cooperatives is not a slogan. It’s a working, traveling, climbing, and repairing reality. It’s crews showing up in unfamiliar towns, lineworkers swapping stories over coffee, and member-owners in Indiana and Mississippi knowing they are part of the same family. Please see the letter from Tishomingo CEO Cody Durham below.

As the lights came back on in Mississippi, the message is clear: when storms strike, cooperatives don’t just restore power. We restore confidence. “Cooperation among Cooperatives” is alive and well!