Basin Electric celebrates National Cooperative Month

National Cooperative Month, held annually in October, recognizes the contributions and values of cooperatives who serve the needs of their members, highlighting how cooperatives strengthen communities, drive economic growth, and empower people to meet shared goals. Throughout the month, cooperatives also promote awareness of the seven cooperative principles, including democratic control, member participation, and concern for community.

As cooperatives across the country celebrate National Cooperative Month this October, Basin Electric Power Cooperative reflects on the vital role electric cooperatives have played, and continue to play, in energizing rural America.

Electric cooperatives were born out of necessity. In the 1930s, nearly 90% of rural homes in the United States had no electricity, with a much higher percentage in the Northern Plains. Investor-owned utilities refused to serve sparsely populated areas, citing low profitability. That changed in 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), offering federal loans to groups of farmers and rural residents willing to form cooperatives and build their own electric systems.

The result was transformational. Within a generation, power lines stretched across farmland and ranchland, delivering light, heat, and opportunity to places previously left in the dark.

Basin Electric was incorporated in 1961, several decades into the rural electrification movement, but at a critical moment. Distribution cooperatives in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains faced increasing demand for electricity and needed a stable source of wholesale power. Basin Electric was formed by these very cooperatives to build and operate large-scale generation and transmission infrastructure that could meet their collective needs.

From 67 member cooperatives in 1961 to 139 today, Basin Electric’s purpose remains unchanged: to ensure members have access to the energy needed to power their communities, farms, and businesses.

“When it comes to cooperative spirit, Basin Electric isn’t just an organization, it’s a family,” Chris Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and chief financial officer, said at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Membership in August. “Together, we celebrate our successes and stand cooperative strong through every challenge. We’ve weathered storms, navigated leadership changes, and pushed through the uncertainties of the COVID pandemic and inflationary cost pressures. Through it all, we have stayed focused on supporting our members.”