The

EMC's corporate offices are now on 20 acres at the intersection of U.S.

Highway 29 and the Ga. Highway 34 bypass in Newnan. This site and present

facilities were begun in 1952.

As

Atlanta's metro south population has grown, the utility company has expanded

to meet the increasing need for electricity.

Whiteside

went on to say that the EMC had investigated over a dozen sites within

the company's service area, but that none had suited all requirements

as well as the Weldon Road property.

While

plans for a new facility required at least 50 acres, this one offered

excellent north-south and east-west access to the service area. Whiteside

pointed out that, "Being only 150 yards from the interstate will

increase our ability to respond quickly when outages occur."

Because

the utility serves Coweta, Fayette, Heard, Meriwether and portions of

Clayton, South Fulton and Spalding counties, a central location is critical

as the population increases, according to a construction architect's preliminary

report in 2000.

"Expanding

at our present site would require a $5- to 6-million investment; that

investment would not be recoverable," he said. Unlike a privately

owned utility, the EMC is owned by its member/customers, so accountability

for expenditures is met by its board of directors, all of whom are members

themselves.

Groundbreaking

for the new facility is expected within the next year; selection of an

architectural team and construction company will take several months,

as will the final plans.

Parks

& Mottola Realtors agent Lisle Bowers negotiated the land purchase

for Coweta-Fayette EMC. The real estate firm is in Newnan.

The

utility company currently employs more than 155 people. In order to serve

92,000 expected members in 2010, employment could increase by about 115

people. Whiteside projects that the project will have a significant economic

impact within the region on completion.

Opening

for business in 1947, Coweta-Fayette EMC will celebrate its 55th anniversary

in 2002. The utility's founding director, Floy Farr, who is still active

on the board, remembers delivering electricity during the first year to

700 homes; today, the company serves more than 59,000 residential, commercial

and industrial meters.

"We

look forward to continuing to meet our members' needs, maintaining the

lowest possible costs and to responding quickly," concluded Whiteside,

adding that the new facility would ensure the company's ability to do

so.

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