MTE History

Who we are

What began in 1936 as a movement by local farmers and rural residents to gain access to life-changing electricity has evolved into the second-largest electric cooperative in the country. Although Middle Tennessee has grown, our commitment to providing affordable, reliable, and safe electricity for our members remains steadfast almost a century later. Beyond electricity, we continue to support community development, education, broadband access, and job creation to make life better for our members.

MTE’s history

Middle Tennessee Electric came into being during the Great Depression as part of national and state efforts to electrify rural America. What started as a movement of farmers and rural residents to obtain the benefits of electricity became one of the nation’s success stories that continue to transform Middle Tennessee today. Here’s how it happened. 

On May 11, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration, thereby providing federal funds for rural electrification. On May 11, 1936, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation was born after farmers, interest leaders, and rural residents dedicated themselves to seeing the "lights come on" across the dark countryside.

The beginning

To electrify rural America at the national and state levels during the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) on May 11, 1935. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Act was signed in 1933 to provide cooperatives and publicly owned municipal power systems with a low-cost source of electricity.  

As it became clear across the nation that private power companies had no intention of building lines into rural areas due to costs, Middle Tennessee farmers and rural residents took it upon themselves to advocate for electricity. In early 1935, Professor Commodore F. Holt, Dr. J.C. Kelton, County Agent A.F. Hill, and others began investigating the possibility of obtaining TVA power in Rutherford County.  

They held meetings and made visits to nearby recently formed electric cooperatives, such as Duck River Electric Membership Corporation in Shelbyville and Lincoln County Electric Membership Corporation in Fayetteville. This group of residents canvassed Rutherford County on their own time to secure applications for TVA from as many farmers as possible.  

At the same time, a group of farmers led by Homer Hancock in Wilson County was seeking TVA approval for five separate projects but had made little progress. TVA advised that neither Rutherford County nor Wilson County was favorable on its own, but a joint effort might prove feasible.  

Many meetings were held among the leaders of these two groups, which ultimately led to the creation of the Stones River Electric Membership Corporation on Dec. 18, 1935.

MTE is born

At a meeting held at the News Journal Building in Murfreesboro on May 11, 1936, the name was officially changed from Stones River Electric to Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation. With the help of a loan from the REA and contract work with TVA, transmission lines were constructed, and MTE’s first lines were energized in December 1936. The overall project was completed by June of 1937, with a total of 280 miles serving 699 members.   

In 1939, MTE signed a contract with the for-profit Tennessee Electric Power Company to purchase about 300 miles of line and add 2,500 new customers, including some in Williamson and Cannon counties.  

To legally define cooperative electric systems in Tennessee — and to set forth their responsibilities and obligations — the 1939 state legislature passed the Tennessee Cooperative Act. As a result, MTE directors passed a resolution on May 22, 1939, converting the system into a cooperative and non-profit membership corporation.

Continued growth

By 1965, a headquarters had been established in Murfreesboro, and permanent offices had been built in Lebanon, Franklin, and Woodbury.  

In 1971, MTE purchased the City of Franklin’s municipal electric utility, Franklin Power & Light Company. With this addition, MTE’s service territory grew to 33,963 meters on 3,937 miles of line.   

Nearly three decades later, MTE began conversations with the City of Lebanon to buy its electric utility. With the addition of the Lebanon Electric Department in 2000, MTE’s service territory grew to serve 137,000 meters with more than 7,900 miles of line.   

The communities continued to grow, and local offices were opened in Smyrna and Mt. Juliet to accommodate the membership's needs.    

In 2020, MTE purchased the Murfreesboro Electric Department from the city of Murfreesboro. The Murfreesboro Electric Department had served the city and the surrounding area since 1939, covering approximately 55 square miles via 68,000 accounts and an estimated 136,000 residents. MED had approximately 90 employees, who were added to MTE’s team.  

This merger made MTE the second-largest electric distribution cooperative in the country, serving 305,000+ accounts across 2,200+ square miles in 11 counties.

MTE and United Communications

Since our founding in 1936, our members’ needs have continued to evolve. Among these, we have seen calls increase for broadband in rural areas and our communities. Without broadband Internet access, many rural businesses lack the connection and internet speeds to compete in the ever-changing economic landscape.   

Cooperatives across Tennessee began investigating the feasibility of providing broadband to their members. Utilizing information from underserved areas, MTE, other electric co-ops, and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association worked with state legislators to pass the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act. This 2017 legislation changed state law to allow electric cooperatives to provide broadband services in their territories.   

In 2018, MTE’s Board of Directors approved the purchase of a controlling interest in United Communications (UC) located in Chapel Hill, TN. As an established local broadband provider with a 70-plus-year history in the telecom industry and a proven track record of providing outstanding service to consumers, UC’s expertise could be combined with MTE’s resources to provide the best broadband solution for members in our service territory.

MTE today

Timeline of MTE CEO/Presidents 

While every employee has played a critical role in helping MTE provide world-class service to our members, MTE has a particularly strong track record of leaders dedicated to improving the lives of its members and the communities we serve. Here is a list of those who have served as CEO/President:  

• Chris Jones – 2013 until current  

• Frank Jennings – 2002 until 2013  

• James Baker – 1980 until 2002  

• Fred Key – 1970 until 1980  

• W. W. (Wilbur Wade) McMasters – 1939 until 1970  

• W.O. Haggard – 1938 until 1939  

• T.E. Steele – 1936 until 1938