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Basin Electric Annual Meeting discusses transmission issues and new plant development

Another natural-gas fired power plant in northwest North Dakota and related transmission.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative - November 10, 2011
Daryl Hill

Basin Electric's generating portfolio is diverse, including coal, wind, renewable, nuclear and natural gas. And in the next couple years, it will include another natural-gas fired power plant in northwest North Dakota. Basin Electric is also studying the need for a new transmission line in northwest North Dakota.

Transmission line additions

Mike Risan, senior vice president of Transmission, talked about the load growth in western North Dakota. "One of the challenges is projecting the growth and identifying what transmission additions Basin Electric needs to make to provide power to our member cooperatives in that part of the system," he said.

Basin Electric is planning to build a 345-kilovolt transmission line around the western end of Lake Sakakawea, from Antelope Valley Station to Williston to Tioga. "At this point we’re basically playing catch-up since the load has developed so quickly," he said. "As we move forward, we are addressing the issue with a phased approach to avoid the possible risk of overbuilding the transmission system in the event the rate of growth diminishes."

A preconference session addressed the complicated issue of whether or not Basin Electric should join a regional transmission organization (RTO) to access energy markets. It would be a fundamental change in the way the parties to the Integrated System do business, and how that change will affect members is unknown. The Integrated System is a transmission system owned by Basin Electric, the Western Area Power Administration and Heartland Consumers Power District.

The eight panelists included representatives from Basin Electric, Integrated System owners, member cooperatives, and a generation and transmission cooperative that already joined an RTO.

Wayne Backman, Basin Electric senior vice president of Generation, said RTOs provide reliability, dispatch generating resources economically and plan transmission enhancements jointly. "We've always jointly planned transmission with our neighbors to avoid duplication of services. RTOs simply do it in a larger footprint."

Mike Risan, Basin Electric senior vice president of Transmission, said the cooperative's options include status quo, full RTO membership, or a hybrid model of membership, where some generation and some load is placed within an RTO's footprint. Basin Electric is participating in the Midwest Independent System Operator’s market by placing some generation in their footprint. "Unless there is a compelling reason to join, we should stick with the hybrid model. It buys us some time to analyze the risks associated with full membership," he said.

Pioneer Generating Station

Wayne Backman, senior vice president of generation, said an increasing demand for electricity in northwest North Dakota necessitates the installation of a new generating station. "We are looking at developing a generating unit in the Williston area," he said. "It's being called the Pioneer Generating Station, named after an abandoned school in the area." The location being considered would be near a large construction project. The new plant would primarily be used to support the local transmission system and serve loads developing in the area. Backman said the unit would incorporate a synchronous clutch. "If needed, the turbine would be disconnected from the generator, and the generator would act as a motor, thus providing much needed voltage support to the area."

Bill credit

Cliff Gjellstad, president of the Basin Electric board of directors, said the cooperative believes that "a bigger Basin Electric is better, enabling us to balance loads and mitigate rate increases by developing generation and transmission across a wide swath of middle America." Gjellstad said Dakota Gasification Company, Basin Electric's largest subsidiary company, is having a good year and is currently projected to have an approximate $60-million after-tax profit for 2011. The board recently took action to dividend $18 million of Dakota Gas profits to Basin Electric. "In turn, Basin Electric will issue a bill credit in the same amount to members in December," he said. Gjellstad noted that in the current acrimonious political climate, working together cooperatively is no small feat. "But we do it, and we do it well. This is a proud day for our cooperative."

Director elections

Four directors were re-elected to three-year terms at the annual meeting: Gary Drost, representing District 2, L&O Power Cooperative, Rock Rapids, Iowa; Don Applegate, representing District 4, Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative, LeMars; Roberta Rohrer, representing District 6, Central Montana Electric Power Cooperative, Great Falls; and Reuben Ritthaler, representing District 10, Powder River Energy Corporation, Sundance, WY.

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