Company Growth

In the forest wilderness of the southern Appalachian Mountains access was a major obstacle to overcome in the companyís growing service area. Power lines were strung throughout what would become 1,729 square miles of a richly vegetated terrain in this rugged environment. Crews began the task of electrifying this remote region without the use of industrial equipment.

Several statistics provide an idea of the companyís growth. They acquired 22,248 additional acres of land for water projects. Gross revenues increase by 396% for an 11 month period in 1930 compared to the same period in 1938 while the customer base increased 120% (571 to 1,253 by 1938). Most noticeable during this period was the 1,490% increase in production of kilowatt-hours (KWH). This increase in production resulted in a decrease of cost to customers per KWH by over 50% from 7.7 cents in 1930 to 3.75 cents in 1938.

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