My husband and I live in rural America (Midwest). The electric company that powers our home is a co-op. The co-op's are absolutely wonderful and I can not imagine why the rest of America isn't using the same method. To help you to understand a co-op I will have to give you a small history lesson.
During the Great Depression, many rural homes were without public electricity that others in cities had. Farmers had to use kerosine lamps, candles, etc. Farmers came up with a solution - the co-op. A group of farmers in an area would form a co-op. Each group of farmers in that co-op pooled their money together to build electrical power stations. There are no shareholder's as the users of the electrical power in that area are the owners. Meters are still read today, but while we pay our bills every month as you do, we also receive monthly credits. As the years go by, the credits add up and eventually you start receiving a checks in the mail from the co-op (these checks are comparable to shareholders in a public company receiving dividends). The only people to receive the checks from the co-op are the users of that particular electrical co-op.
Do you receive money back from your electric company just because you are a customer? I think co-op's are the best!