Members travel to learn how their power is made and moved

Great River Energy recently welcomed a busload of Lake Country Power (LCP) member-owners who traveled from the Iron Range to Maple Grove to learn more about where their power comes from.

The group of 50 people were given a tour of several Great River Energy facilities, including the headquarters, Elk River campus as well as a transmission substation.

At each of these stops, LCP members received an in-depth look into how their wholesale power provider operates. They heard from experts about the cooperative’s power supply mix including renewable energy, electric vehicles and the Midwest energy market. The member-owners also toured a peaking power plant and got an up-close view of a transmission substation.

More than a dozen Great River Energy employees from across several departments — including power supply, member services and transmission, among others — played a role in the event.

“Part of what sets electric cooperatives apart from other utilities is that we are member driven,” said Daniel Becchetti, manager of communications and marketing at Great River Energy. “These members were interested and curious to know more about how the electricity they receive in Northern Minnesota is made and moved, so we welcomed them to see it firsthand.”