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Electricity

In 1961 sixty-seven rural electric cooperatives incorporated Basin Electric Power Cooperative as a regional generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative for the purpose of supplying wholesale electric power to its members. At the time, electric consumers in the Missouri River basin were facing uncertain supply and growing demands for electric power.

Leland Olds Station construction 1965

A former Federal Power Commission chairman, Leland Olds, advocated the practicality of developing "giant power" on the Great Plains of the Upper Midwest. He suggested integrating federal transmission with new power plants fueled by low-sulfur coal, and then pooling the cooperatives' federal hydropower allocations to meet power demand in the region. Spurred by his plan, Basin Electric constructed its first power plant, a single, 216-megawatt unit: Leland Olds Station, Unit 1 near Stanton, ND.

From that small plant, Basin Electric has evolved into a regional network of electric generating and transmission facilities that bring power to our member cooperatives in nine states.

Whether we're running on coal, wind, natural gas, hydro or oil, or ramping up our generation to fulfill peak demand, you can be sure that we've got the power for our consumer.

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• Electricity
• Base Load
• PeakingPower
• Renewable Energy
• Glossary

Basin Electric transmission line