A cooperative legacy: Mark Foss reflects on 47 years of service

Picture this: it’s 1978. An about-to-graduate third-year law student walks into a room for a job interview with Basin Electric’s general counsel, unsure if it’s the right fit—or if he’ll even be considered for the job.

Fast forward nearly five decades, and that same hopeful law student is now preparing to close the chapter on a remarkable 47-year career with the cooperative.

Mark Foss, who served as Basin Electric’s senior vice president and general counsel from 2015 until August 2025, could never have imagined the path that began with that interview all those years ago, but he wouldn’t trade a single moment of the journey. Mark reflects on what kept him coming back, year after year, and why his time at the cooperative was so meaningful.

What kept you motivated?

Over my career with Basin Electric, I’ve done a lot of things that I never dreamt I’d be able to work on. In many instances, we were the first to do something, and we were figuring out how to accomplish it, how to structure it. There’s real excitement to that.

What’s one project you’re especially proud of?

The Antelope Valley Station leveraged leases. In 1984, Antelope Valley was going commercial, Basin Electric had 1,000 megawatts (MW) of load, and 2,000 MW of generation. It was a time of very high interest rates. Putting that transaction together, we accomplished several industry firsts. We completed six leveraged leases, each involving an undivided interest in a power plant, which was something that had never been done before. For the first time, we also integrated both tax-exempt debt and commercial paper into the lease financing structure. The savings from that transaction did quite a lot to get Basin Electric through a challenging chapter in its history.

It was a long, drawn-out process before the internet existed, so everything took more time and effort. For nearly a year, I flew out every Sunday night to New York or Washington, D.C. and returned home every Friday.

What are some important lessons you’ve learned over the past 47 years?

I worked for Kent Janssen, former Dakota Gas chief operating officer, for several years. There were two things he always said. The first is to make a decision and act quickly on it. Do a thorough analysis, and then do something. His line was: you can always recover from the wrong decision, but you may never recover from failing to make one.

His second bit of advice was that you can’t be afraid to do the hard thing in business. Bad things happen. It’s human nature to try and ignore them. You need to take action – sometimes an action that you’d rather not take. But he always said, do the hard thing.

What’s one of the most memorable moments in your career?

Kent Janssen, Paul Sukut, former Basin Electric CEO and general manager, and I spent a week in Fargo, North Dakota, mediating a contract pricing dispute Dakota Gas and the Department of Energy had with the pipeline company affiliates of the original owners of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant. These guys were tough customers. They were all people from very large companies who had a lot riding on these negotiations. We finally reached a settlement, and as we drove home from Fargo on a cold winter night, knowing the other side agreed to a $700 million settlement, we were feeling pretty good.

What will you miss most about coming to work?

I’ve always had good relationships with people I work with. Basin Electric is a family. You come to the office in the morning, and it starts with a hello from Shawn, the front desk receptionist at Basin Electric Headquarters, and it continues with lots of hellos all the way up to my office. I’ll miss that contact every day.

What are you looking forward to in retirement?

I’m really looking forward to having a bit more time and not feeling so rushed. I love to work out and ride my bike, but often I have to cut that short because I need to get to work. Another thing is that, especially over the last decade in this position, I never felt comfortable being gone for more than a week at a time. In retirement, I won’t have to worry about how long I’m away.

My wife, Sharon, and I have grandkids in Bismarck and nearby on a ranch north of New Salem, so I get to see their activities often. But we also have three grandkids in Fargo, North Dakota, that I don’t get to see as much. Being retired will give me the chance to spend more time with them too, without worrying about getting back for work, a meeting, or a trip.

Do you have any hobbies you’re excited to pursue?

Sharon tells me that in retirement I will be taking over the cooking duties. I’ve been eating her cooking for a number of years, so it’s time for me to pay her back.

Summarize your career in one sentence.

I stuck with it.