What began as a casual conversation has sparked a major safety initiative at Great River Energy, where dozens of employees now rely on wearable technology to enhance safety while working alone. The idea formed when Great River Energy’s Melissa Phillips, manager of field services, spoke with a technician who expressed concern about what might happen […]
Smartwatches help protect lone workers Read More »
The uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) program at Great River Energy began in 2018 and has since grown to include 15 systems and 16 qualified operators. The program received a Beyond Visual Line of Sight waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration last spring, which allows Great River Energy to fly its UASs up to 20 miles
UAS program continues to expand Read More »
Great River Energy achieves strong reliability in 2024 Keeping the lights on is Great River Energy’s core business and the cooperative delivered in every regard in 2024. Great River Energy closely monitors reliability by tracking outages affecting its member-owners’ distribution substations that are triggered by issues on the transmission system. In 2024, the cooperative recorded
Energy members can depend on Read More »
Severe Weather Awareness Week is designed to remind and educate everyone about the seasonal threats from severe weather and how to avoid them. It’s also a great time to make and practice your emergency plan, refresh your emergency preparedness kit and revisit what to do should you encounter a downed power line. Severe Weather Awareness Week is April 7-11 in Minnesota. The state conducts tornado drills April 10.
Watch out for severe weather Read More »
Great River Energy recently entered into another innovative pilot project to further its grid modernization efforts. The cooperative is working with Prisma Photonics to deploy its monitoring technology across approximately 90 miles of existing transmission lines in northern and central Minnesota. The technology will help Great River Energy serve its members better by offering operators
Grid modernization takes shape on transmission lines Read More »
Great River Energy provides wholesale electric service to Minnesota electric cooperatives with an eye toward its triple bottom line of rates, reliability and environmental stewardship. Great River Energy’s wholesale electric rates stand approximately 20% below the weighted regional average cost of electricity. Its reliability scores remain strong, and the cooperative is testing leading-edge technologies to
Great River Energy: Powering what’s possible Read More »
While member-consumers experienced temperatures as low as 35 below zero in early January, their electric service remained dependable. The region’s grid operator, MISO, implemented conservative operations Jan. 17-22, which required MISO members such as Great River Energy to delay non-essential maintenance. It also signaled that grid conditions may require special attention in the event of
Preparation pays off during cold snap Read More »
Great River Energy leadership traveled north and south to share information, discuss strategies with hundreds of member-owners Great River Energy is owned by 26 member-owner cooperatives. Each one of them is governed by a local board of directors that is elected from and by the membership. Hundreds of those leaders of Minnesota’s electric cooperatives gathered
Meeting the membership where they are Read More »
Project will bolster regional reliability and minimize environmental impact Several energy providers launched their plan to provide long-term electric reliability for customers by developing the Upper Midwest’s first 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission project, which will meet the significant growth in electricity use projected in the coming decades and improve access to new energy sources needed to
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission today approved the Certificate of Need and Route Permit for Minnesota Power and Great River Energy’s jointly owned high-voltage transmission line to bolster electric reliability in northern and central Minnesota and support the regional clean energy transition. The Northland Reliability Project is an approximately 180-mile, double-circuit, 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission line