BUSINESS MEMO: AECI IN 'TOP 100'

Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. of Springfield has moved up in the listing of the nation's "Top 100" cooperatives.

AECI, which has operations at New Madrid and Glennonville in the Southeast Missouri area, has moved to No. 60 this year, up from No. 68 last year.

AECI's 1999 revenue is listed at $584 million, compared to $541 million the previous year. AECI assets are at $1.2 billion.

Associated Electric was listed No. 4 among the cooperatives listed in the utility sector, behind Oglethorpe Power Corp., Basin Electric Power Cooperative and North Carolina Electric Membership, Corp.

There are more than 48,000 cooperatives in the nation, generating more than $150 billion in economic activity. Agriculture cooperatives make up the lion's share in the top 100 with 42. Grocery cooperatives had 21 listings in the Top 100; finance cooperatives had 12, Utilities had 11, hardware and lumber seven, and others, seven.

AECI provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local power suppliers in Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa that serve more than 750,000 homes and businesses representing 1.95 million individual consumers.