On May 11, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Rural Electrification Administration. Just over a year later, he signed the Rural Electrification Act, which cleared the way for the United States Department of Agriculture to work with local farmers and ranchers to bring electricity to their communities.

The year of Jackson Purchase Energy's incorporation was 1937, the time of the Great Flood, when the Ohio River and its major Kentucky tributaries wreaked devastation and inundated Paducah. Estimated damage: a quarter of a billion dollars.

The floodwaters subsided in February, and in June Jackson Purchase Rural Electric was incorporated.

As of March 8, 1940, Jackson Purchase REA had three hundred and twenty-two miles of line with one hundred and thirty-two more under construction or proposed and membership of about one thousand two hundred.

Mission 

The mission of Jackson Purchase Energy Corporation is to provide superior services and responsible leadership to our partners to meet future challenges.