Big Country Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a distribution cooperative (Texas 163 Fisher County) with offices in Roby, Stamford, and Snyder, Texas, serving portions of Borden, Fisher, Garza, Jones, Kent, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry, Stonewall, Haskell, Shackelford, and Throckmorton counties in the low rolling plains region of Texas. Big Country's service area lies in the northwestern central portion of Texas, with dimensions of 155 miles east to west, and 115 miles north to south, covering almost 5,700 square miles. The eastern part of the service area is level or gently rolling. The western part tends to be more rolling and hilly. The area is primarily devoted to agriculture (ranching and farming) and the oil and gas industry. Water is abundant on the southern sections, and depletion of ground water resources is of great concern. The territory is flat plains, with almost all of the land tillable except for some playa lakes and draws in the northwest “Caprock” area. A small portion of the service area is used as ranch land for both stocker and cow-calf operations. The cattle graze on improved pastures, stubble fields, and wheat pastures. The growing season is approximately 180 days. Principal crops are cotton, corn, grain sorghum, and wheat. The economy of the region is highly dependent on agricultural production, with changes affecting the load growth, population, and electricity sales. The maximum demand for electricity occurs during the summer, primarily from irrigation and air conditioning loads during the hot and dry periods.