Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Story Behind the Switch
Established in 1983, Basin Electric’s traveling demonstration program about electricity is still going strong.
“The Story Behind the Switch” is a 45-minute program about electricity presented by a Basin Electric demonstrator - explaining what electricity is, how it is made, how it gets to where it’s going and how it has become part of our lives.
 | A "Hair Raising" Experience |
About 20 minutes of the program is dedicated to questions from students and hands-on demonstrations.
Supplementing the program are actual samples of high-voltage transmission line conductors and other hardware.
Students can examine pulverized coal that is burned in power plants to generate electricity.
The program teaches children about conductors, current, insulators, voltage and other related topics. including electrical safety near water, kite flying and tree climbing safety precautions near power lines, and operating farm equipment near power lines
The program has reached more than 300,000 students throughout Basin Electric’s nine service territory states.
There is no charge for the program for Basin Electric member systems. If you have further questions about bringing “The Story Behind the Switch” to your school, contact Basin Electric (1-800-242-2372) or your local rural electric cooperative.
Program sponsor:
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
1717 East Interstate Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58504
Phone: 701.223.0441
Fax: 701.224.5336
Directions to Headquarters
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
1717 East Interstate Ave.
Bismarck, ND 58503-0564 USA
701.223.0441