Wednesday | July 1, 2026
All News

I’m excited to share that another major step in CHELCO’s long-term facilities plan is nearing completion. Over the past 12 years, this plan has guided several transformative projects designed to strengthen service for our members, including the construction of our Headquarters Campus in DeFuniak Springs. Now, construction of our new Freeport Campus, which began in December 2024, is entering its final stages. While CHELCO’s headquarters will remain in DeFuniak Springs, the Freeport Campus will enhance our service to members in Freeport, Choctaw Beach, Bluewater Bay, Santa Rosa Beach, and surrounding communities.

Situated on a 14.4‑acre parcel, the campus includes a 28,700‑square‑foot main building, a 10,000‑square‑foot storage facility, and approximately eight acres of improved surface for equipment laydown—critical for staging transformers, poles, and other materials needed to support reliable service.
Situated on a 14.4‑acre parcel, the campus includes a 28,700‑square‑foot main building, a 10,000‑square‑foot storage facility, and approximately eight acres of improved surface for equipment laydown—critical for staging transformers, poles, and other materials needed to support reliable service.

Since we first announced plans for the new campus, more than 6,000 new members have moved onto CHELCO lines. That growth underscores exactly why this facility is so important—and why we want to ensure every member, especially those new to the cooperative, understands the value this campus will bring to our community.

For years, members in and around Freeport have relied on our satellite office inside Freeport’s City Hall. We remain grateful for the partnership with Mayor Barley and the city staff, but the rapid expansion of residential and commercial development in the area requires a dedicated, full‑service facility capable of meeting today’s needs and tomorrow’s demands.

The new campus delivers on that need. Unlike our current satellite office, which houses only Member Service Representatives, the Freeport Campus will include space for Operations personnel, including Line Technicians who respond to outages around the clock. Having crews based directly in this region will help to reduce response times for outages in areas such as Santa Rosa Beach, Freeport, and Bluewater Bay.

As construction nears completion, the foresight of CHELCO’s Board of Trustees is clearer than ever. Their decision to purchase this land in 2015—long before the area’s current wave of growth—enabled CHELCO to make a strategic, cost-effective investment that strengthens an already reliable electric system and prepares us to serve a rapidly growing community well into the future.

While construction timelines can shift, we remain on track to open the new Freeport Campus in the third quarter of this year. The building is now in its final phases, and each milestone brings us closer to welcoming members into a modern, efficient, and accessible facility.

As we get closer to announcing an official opening date, we will be sure to share more updates. Because this newsletter is published only monthly, we encourage members to follow CHELCO on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube for the most timely information. Opening dates will also be posted on CHELCO.com and shared via email with members whose email addresses we have on file.

This is also a good reminder: if your contact information—phone number, mailing address, or email—is not up to date, you can update it anytime at CHELCO.com/update-contact-information. Keeping your information current ensures you receive important updates about this project and other cooperative news.

To our long‑time members and to the thousands who have joined us in recent years, thank you for your trust and support. This campus is more than a new building—it is a commitment to reliability, responsiveness, and the cooperative values that guide everything we do.

Steve Rhodes,                                            

Chief Executive Officer