Rural electric cooperative serving 53,000+ members across Arizona
Trico is a nonprofit electric distribution cooperative founded in 1945, serving rural areas around Tucson with over 53,000 member-owners. Active projects signal a shift toward infrastructure modernization: fiber-to-the-home deployment, smart grid communications, and distribution network optimization. The tech stack reflects this trajectory—Cisco, Juniper, and Fortinet backbone paired with Power BI and Python—while pain points center on reliability, scalability, and cost allocation across member classes. Hiring is modest but balanced between engineering (5 roles) and operations, suggesting measured infrastructure buildout rather than rapid scaling.
Trico Electric Cooperative is a member-owned utility operating in rural Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties in Arizona. Formed in 1945, it distributes power to over 53,000 members—roughly a cooperative structure where member-owners vote on governance and share in surpluses. The organization operates distribution networks, manages regulatory filings with the Arizona Corporation Commission, and now manages active engineering projects in fiber deployment and smart grid infrastructure. At 51–200 employees, Trico maintains a lean operations team focused on system reliability, cost studies, and rate-setting for its member base.
Trico serves more than 53,000 members in rural areas surrounding Tucson, Arizona, including portions of Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz counties.
Trico's stack includes Cisco and Juniper networking, Fortinet security, Palo Alto Networks, Power BI for analytics, Python and R for modeling, and AutoCAD for design—typical for infrastructure utilities managing distribution networks.
Other companies in the same industry, closest in size