Basin Electric, members discuss powering progress at 2025 Annual Meeting

Basin Electric’s 2025 Annual Meeting of the Membership was held on Aug. 13 at the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, North Dakota. The meeting was attended by 743 member cooperative employees, directors, public officials, utility representatives, and guests.

The theme for Basin Electric’s 64^th Annual Meeting was “Powering Progress.” This theme reflects the cooperative’s ongoing advancements in transmission and generation projects, as well as strategic technology upgrades that position it for future growth and enhanced service reliability.

Wayne Peltier, Basin Electric board president and representative of Basin Electric Class A member Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light and Power Association in Montevideo, Minn., discussed how “Powering Progress” represents Basin Electric’s steadfast commitment to providing reliable, affordable electricity even as demand reaches unprecedented levels across the cooperative’s service territory. “It is our members’ needs and priorities that shape the direction of our cooperative,” Peltier said.

Todd Brickhouse, Basin Electric CEO and general manager, emphasized the vital role of progress in advancing the cooperative’s mission. “The electrons we produce and distribute are the raw materials of a modern economy, and our electrons are the key ingredient to higher standards of living,” he said. Brickhouse spoke about how past achievements shape the cooperative’s path forward, especially as it plans for the next decade. “We stand on the shoulders of giants, and hopefully this allows us to see the horizon a little more clearly as we invest $10.6 billion over the next decade,” he said.

Chris Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and chief financial officer, discussed the progress the cooperative is making through strategic investments and forward-thinking financial planning. “At the heart of every electric cooperative lies a relentless drive to power progress—illuminating homes, energizing businesses, and empowering communities not only tomorrow but also for the decades to come,” Johnson said. “Basin Electric is leading this effort with purpose and people at its core, investing in long-term infrastructure and grid modernization to support the communities where our members live and work.”

The Annual Meeting featured Mark Mills as the keynote speaker. Mills is a physicist and energy expert known for his fact-based approach to how we power the world—breaking down everything from oil and gas to renewables and emerging technologies. “Productivity matters because it’s what drives wealth. It’s what drives growth. It’s about getting more output with less input,” Mills said.

Other highlights include:

• Chris Baumgartner, Basin Electric senior vice president of Member and External Relations, provided a welcome to meeting attendees.
• Teri Viswanath, lead economist for power, energy, and water in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange research division, and Brock Taylor, CoBank senior vice president and head of Power, Energy, and Utilities, discussed the continued impacts of data center growth across the U.S. and the demand for power that will continue to be a growing topic for utilities, policymakers, and energy providers in the years ahead.
• Andy Whitesitt, senior vice president and chief business development officer at ACES Power Marketing, emphasized that natural gas is central to meeting rapidly growing electricity demand—driven by data centers, industrial resurgence, electrification, and heating—creating a need for flexible, reliable generation.
• The Progress in Motion panel spoke about progress and how it drives Basin Electric’s shared cooperative goals. “Safety, reliability, affordability. That has been the balance, the three-legged stool per se, that we have focused on the last several years,” Gavin McCollam, panelist and Basin Electric senior vice president and chief operating officer, said.
• The Powering Progress panel offered key insights into Basin Electric’s upcoming projects aimed at meeting growing demand while ensuring members continue to receive affordable, reliable power. “It’s not just about keeping up. It’s about leading. That’s what powering progress means to us: making sure our grid remains reliable, affordable, and ready for what’s next,” Jeremy Severson, panelist and Basin Electric vice president of Transmission, said.