A cooperative is a business owned and governed by the people it serves, which distinguishes it from investor-owned and municipal electric utilities. The co-op operates for the benefit of its members, rather than investors. We focus on people, not profits. Electric cooperative employees and board members are a part of the community the cooperative serves.
Historically, people formed cooperatives for electrical and telephone service, farming, banking, housing, childcare, health care, food retailing and other goods and services. The nation's 47,000 cooperatives are found in every state and serve approximately 120 million people, or half the population of the United States. Of those, about 1,000 are electric cooperatives, which serve 32 million people in 47 states.
Want to know how SPEC got started? Check out our history timeline!
SPEC is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Our office is located at:
402 E Sinton St.
Sinton, TX 78387
SPEC's service area spans over parts of nine counties: San Patricio, Live Oak, Bee, Refugio, McMullen, Jim Wells, Goliad, Aransas, and Nueces . We mainly serve rural residents and do not serve in town.
There are a few ways you can determine if we can serve your address:
- If your neighbors get electric service from SPEC, there's a good chance we can serve your address.
- If there's an existing SPEC meter at the address, we can serve the location. You should be able to easily identify our name on the meter.
- If there are SPEC poles located nearby, we can likely serve the location. Our poles can be identified by an silver tag with 5 digits or less.
- You can always call us at 361-364-2220 to verify whether or not we can serve your location.
Each bill for utility service, regardless of the nature of the service, is due 16 days after issuance. If the due date falls on a holiday or weekend payment will be due the next business day. If full payment is not received by the cooperative, the customer's account will be considered delinquent and may be subject to late fees and disconnection in accordance with these rules.
You may pay your bill by phone, online, at your local bank or through automatic bank draft. In some areas, the co-op offers pay stations where you can pay your bill in person. Your payment can also be mailed or hand delivered. The mailing address is
San Patricio Electric Cooperative
P.O. Box 360
San Antonio, TX 78292-0360.
SPEC accepts cash, checks and debit and credit cards. Please see payment options for further information.
SmartHub is San Patricio Electric Cooperative’s online payment and account management tool that you can use on your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can use SmartHub to pay your bill online, manage your account and monitor your energy consumption. For more information on the program, visit our SmartHub page.
San Patricio Electric Cooperative currently offers the following additional services:
Please contact a service representative with SPEC for further information at 361-364-2220.
If you or a member of your household is dependent on any type of life support equipment, we need to know! Please fill out the Critical Care Form and submit it, along with a physician’s directive or prescription detailing your life-support needs. Please be aware that this designation does not guarantee an uninterrupted, regular, or continuous power supply. If electricity is a necessity, you must make other arrangements for on-site back-up capabilities or other alternatives in the event of loss of electric service.
SPEC will opt for competition only if it benefits you, the member-owner. For more information regarding deregulation, visit our deregulation page.
SPEC purchases electricity from South Texas Electric Cooperative, a generation and transmission cooperative. This includes a diverse mix of energy resources, including coal, natural gas and renewable energy.