Survey shows member-consumers trust, prefer cooperatives

Great River Energy conducted a survey of 800 member-consumers across Minnesota to get a snapshot of what matters most to cooperative members.

The results showed that trust in Great River Energy and its member-owner cooperatives remains exceptionally strong. Over 90% of respondents rate information flow, outage response and board transparency as “good” or “excellent.”

The cooperative business model is highly valued, with 70% of members preferring their member-owned cooperative over other types of electricity providers.

Reliability continues to be the highest priority for member-consumers, regardless of age, location or views on energy. Economic optimism is also evident, as 66% of respondents believe Minnesota is headed in the right direction.

Community support is a hallmark of the cooperative model and members appreciate this commitment. Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that their cooperative does an excellent job supporting local initiatives, and community investments are rising on the list of priorities.

Support for new transmission investments is strong at 77%, seen as essential for powering the state with clean energy.

Daniel Becchetti, communications and marketing manager at Great River Energy, said the results show the trust that members place in their cooperatives.

“We’re proud to see such strong support for the cooperative model and our commitment to community,” Becchetti said. “We will learn from these results and use them to continue to deliver exceptional service to our members.”

Learn more about the survey results on the Great River Energy website.