National Lineworker Appreciation Day recognizes the essential workers who maintain the electric grid You probably don’t think about them until your power goes out, but electric lineworkers protect homes and communities 24 hours a day. Like other first responders who keep people safe, lineworkers endure all kinds of weather and challenging conditions. Great River Energy …
Great River Energy is seeking to expand capacity of its transmission resources by testing an exciting new technology. Following an internal planning study to identify lines with potential congestion and the highest financial impact, Great River Energy selected a transmission line in West Central Minnesota for a pilot project that uses Heimdall Power’s “Neurons.” These …
New tech holds potential to unlock hidden grid capacity Read More »
Maintaining vegetation under and near transmission lines is key to providing safe and reliable electricity. A disruption of service can occur when overhead wires and cables contact vegetation or when trees or branches are broken during rain, wind, snow or ice storms and damage the lines or conductors. Great River Energy performs regular right-of-way maintenance …
Vegetation management strategy is critical to a reliable grid Read More »
Severe Weather Awareness Week, April 8-12, is a great time for Minnesotans to prepare for unpredictable and extreme Midwestern weather. Great River Energy and its 27 member-owner cooperatives and customers are always working to keep the power flowing to homes, farms and businesses. “During severe weather, such as tornados, straight-line winds and hail, it’s important …
Great River Energy, wholesale power provider to 27 member distribution cooperatives, is asking Minnesota communities to join the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and hundreds of co-ops across the U.S. in recognizing the work line technicians do for the communities they serve on April 8, 2024, Lineworker Appreciation Day. “Our line technicians play a critical …
Thanks to the lineworkers who keep the lights on Read More »
Great River Energy continues to transition its power supply portfolio to serve members and adapt to a changing market while charting a path to achieve carbon-free energy requirements — all while recording the strongest financial results in the organization’s history. Great River Energy again rewarded its members’ investment in the cooperative by issuing $25 million …
Great River Energy: Powering what’s possible for its membership Read More »
As Minnesota moves toward a carbon-free energy future, the state permitting process for transmission projects has risen high on the list of issues that need to be addressed, and it is expected to be a key focus at Minnesota’s legislative session this year. Building transmission lines, such as the 180-mile Northland Reliability Project that Great …
Advocating for member-owners cooperatives on state task force Read More »
Utilities have long taken measures to make electric infrastructure more visible and less obstructive to plants and animals. A Great River Energy project in southwest Minnesota demonstrates a new approach to keeping birds safe. Due to avian strike concerns on the CapX2020 transmission line segment between the Lyon and Hazel substations near Cottonwood, Minnesota, Great …
In an era where electricity plays an indispensable role in our daily lives, maintaining a reliable and robust power grid is important. To help tackle this challenge, innovative solutions like mobile substations can enhance the resilience of distribution networks. These units are equipped with transformers, circuit breakers, protective relays and other necessary equipment to step …
Innovative mobile substation helps keep the lights on Read More »
Great River Energy has put into service an all-electric utility vehicle to gain more experience with electric field vehicles and follow the principle to “electrify everything.” The vehicle, a Polaris Ranger XP Kinetic, arrived last fall at the cooperative’s Dickinson Converter Station located in Buffalo, Minnesota, and employees have been putting it to the test. …