What Midwest Energy Association does

Midwest Energy Association (MEA) is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1905 and headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving natural gas, electric, and combination utilities along with their contractor ecosystems across the United States. Its core product is EnergyU, a cloud-based learning management system offering 430+ online courses covering CFR 192 natural gas, CFR 195 liquid pipeline, ASME B31Q, OSHA, electric operations, and utility basics, with paperless performance evaluations, QR-code badge verification for field operator qualification (OQ) checks, and nightly batch data transfers to ISNetworld for compliance reporting. Qualifications earned through EnergyU are accepted by regulators in all U.S. states, and the platform serves 25,000 users across 725 operator and contractor companies. Course content is developed collaboratively by subject matter experts from 100+ leading distribution companies, creating a consensus-validated compliance training library.

MEA operates a diversified revenue model spanning annual membership dues (300+ member companies), per-user EnergyU subscriptions, event registration and sponsorship (Gas Operations Technical & Leadership Summit, Electric Operations Technical & Leadership Summit, National Gas Rodeo & Expo, and various roundtables), OQ consulting and plan development services, course customization and SCORM-compliant authoring, and licensing of the Safety Assessment behavioral hiring tool developed with Assessment Associates International. The organization also runs adjacent programs including Energetic Women leadership development, the Utility Leadership Accelerator Program, Field Leader Training, and Gas Mutual Assistance coordination with the American Gas Association. With 120+ years of industry history and a leadership role in PHMSA OQ compliance since the 1999 final rule, MEA functions as a regulated-industry training utility with strong structural moats rather than a venture-scalable technology business.

Name

Midwest Energy Association

Legal name

MEA Energy Association

Website

https://meaenergy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Midwest Energy Association is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1905 serving U.S. natural gas, electric, and combination utilities through its EnergyU cloud-based learning management system (430+ courses, 25,000 users, 725 companies) plus membership, OQ consulting, and industry events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for utility companies, contractors, and other industry participants. Members receive access to directories, events, awards, training discounts, and networking opportunities. Companies with 20+ employees find cost advantages in membership due to EnergyU discounts.
2. EnergyU Training Licenses: Annual subscription-based licensing of the EnergyU platform on a per-user basis (not per course), providing access to course libraries including gas, liquids, ASME, OSHA, electric, and utility basics. Revenue from 25,000 users across 725 operator and contractor companies.
3. Event Registration and Sponsorship: Revenue from registration fees for conferences, summits, roundtables, and the National Gas Rodeo. Additional revenue from exhibitor and sponsor fees at major industry events including the Gas Operations Summit and Electric Operations Summit.
4. OQ Consulting Services: Subject matter expert consulting for Operator Qualification plan development, program review, task list audits, field reviews, implementation support, and qualification conversion services (CFR 192/195 to ASME B31Q).
5. Course Customization Services: Custom modification, addition, removal, or creation of training course content to meet company-specific procedures, policies, equipment, or operator requirements. Direct engagement with instructional designers and subject matter experts.
6. Safety Assessment Licensing: Licensing of the MEA Safety Assessment program (developed with Assessment Associates International) for pre- and post-employment screening, helping natural gas and electric utilities hire safer, more dependable workforce.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Midwest Energy Association (MEA) is a non-profit trade association serving natural gas and electric utilities through its EnergyU online learning management system (430+ courses covering CFR 192, CFR 195, ASME B31Q, OSHA, electric, and utility basics), annual conferences and summits, OQ consulting, course customization and authoring services, behavioral safety assessments, and a membership program connecting 300+ member companies.

Product overview

MEA Energy Association operates a unified platform-and-module architecture centered on EnergyU, a comprehensive online learning management system. EnergyU serves as the core platform providing over 430 online courses across seven libraries (CFR 192 Natural Gas, CFR 195 Liquid Pipeline, ASME B31Q, OSHA, Electric, Utility Basics, and Leadership) plus scannable badges and paperless evaluations. The platform is complemented by OQ Consulting services for operator qualification compliance, Course Customization and Authoring services for company-specific content, and the Safety Assessment behavioral hiring tool. Annual events include the Gas Operations Technical & Leadership Summit and Electric Operations Technical & Leadership Summit. Supporting programs include Field Leader Training, the Utility Leadership Accelerator Program, Energetic Women, and the National Gas Rodeo & Expo. Additional services cover Renewable Energy, Electric Vehicle resources, and Gas Mutual Assistance coordination. EnergyU qualifications are accepted by regulators in all U.S. states and hundreds of operators, serving 25,000 users across 725 operator and contractor companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EnergyU: The nation's premier online training system offering over 430 courses for gas, electric, OSHA, and utility basics with electronic evaluations and scannable badges.
• National Gas Rodeo & Expo
• Energetic Women
• EnergyU

Products and services

• EnergyU Online Training Platform Cloud-based learning management system providing 24/7 access to 430+ online training and testing courses across gas, liquids, electric, OSHA, and utility basics libraries. Used by 25,000 users across 725 operator and contractor companies, with qualifications accepted by regulators in all U.S. states. Includes paperless evaluations, scannable QR code badges for OQ verification, and electronic performance evaluation forms.
• OQ Consulting Services Operator qualification consulting including OQ plan development, program review, task list audits, field reviews, implementation support, and conversion of qualifications between CFR 192/195 and ASME B31Q standards. Delivered by subject matter experts to natural gas utilities and contractors.
• Course Customization and Authoring Custom modification, addition, removal, or creation of EnergyU training course content to meet company-specific procedures, policies, equipment, or operator requirements. Delivered by instructional designers and subject matter experts, with support for SCORM-compliant third-party content integration.
• MEA Safety Assessment Behavior-based hiring and development tool licensed through Assessment Associates International. Provides pre- and post-employment screening using behavioral interviewing questions and measurable safety-related behaviors, helping natural gas and electric utilities hire and develop safer employees.
• Gas Operations Technical and Leadership Summit Annual natural gas industry summit featuring educational sessions, technical training, networking, and industry exhibit hall. Program covers AI applications in energy operations, data center impacts, workforce retention, and advances in gas distribution technologies.
• Electric Operations Technical and Leadership Summit Annual electric utility professional summit covering AI in control centers, storm hardening, advanced metering infrastructure, grid modernization, reliability, and workforce leadership. Three-day event with industry exhibits and peer roundtables.
• Field Leader Training Practical leadership skills training for utility field workers designed to enhance safety and productivity. Includes both in-person and virtual training components covering field leadership development.
• Utility Leadership Accelerator Program Six to eight month executive development program for rising utility leaders featuring 1:1 and group coaching, live virtual learning, and comprehensive leadership assessment.
• Gas Mutual Assistance Program Emergency mutual assistance coordination working with AGA and regional gas associations to provide communication services and develop mutual assistance resources for gas utilities during emergencies.
• Energetic Women Program Leadership development program preparing women within the energy industry for leadership roles in operations and engineering through outreach programs, awards, and Wall of Mavericks recognition.
• National Gas Rodeo and Expo Annual competition and professional event showcasing elite gas crew skills from across the United States, with industry expo, sponsorship opportunities, and networking.
• Renewable Energy Education Services Educational support for renewable energy including webinars, complimentary online courses on solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, hydrogen, and biomass energy, plus networking resources.
• MEA Membership Program Annual membership for utility companies, contractors, and industry participants providing access to directories, events, awards, training discounts, EnergyU licensing discounts, and networking opportunities across 300+ member companies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25,000 users trained through EnergyU platform across 725 operator and contractor companies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Gas Association (AGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA works with AGA and regional gas associations in developing gas emergency mutual assistance resources. The AGA program is based on a coalition of AGA member companies that agree to baseline provisions governing mutual assistance and maintain the AGA Mutual Assistance Database with company-specific emergency contact information and field capabilities. MEA supports the AGA Mutual Assistance Program and assists operators in coordinating mutual assistance support.
• American Public Gas Association (APGA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA participates in ongoing discussion and coordination of gas mutual assistance processes and resources with AGA, APGA, and regional gas associations.
• ISNetworldcoreTechnology or IntegrationEnergyU provides free data transfers to ISNetworld on a nightly basis for subscribed companies enrolled in ISN. Companies are responsible for entering required user information in both EnergyU and ISN, with special transfers available for data older than 30 days.
• Assessment Associates InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA Safety Assessment program is licensed through Assessment Associates International. The assessment has been developed and continually improved over fifteen years with attention to questions relating to verifiable work behaviors for entry-level and labor/support jobs in the gas and electric utility industry.
• Green Hydrogen CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA partners with the Green Hydrogen Coalition, an educational non-profit organization, for webinars and educational content about green hydrogen's role in supporting economy-wide decarbonization and building momentum for scalable green hydrogen projects.
• Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MACH2)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA partners with Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen to support renewable energy education and networking in the hydrogen sector, as part of supporting members through the energy transition.
• 100+ Leading Distribution Companies (Content Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 100 leading distribution companies collaborated to develop MEA's OQ materials, and a consortium of members defined the lineworker curriculum. This collaboration produced the most trusted industry consensus training, with EnergyU qualifications accepted by hundreds of operators and regulators in all U.S. states.
• StrategenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMEA partnered with Strategen for the Green Hydrogen 101 webinar exploring how GH2 can support and speed economy-wide decarbonization.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• ClickSafety (Ascend Learning): Online OSHA and environmental, health, and safety (EHS) training provider with growing utility-relevant content. Comparable in delivery model (online per-user compliance training), though its content footprint and industry consensus position are narrower than MEA's.
• 360training: Online regulatory and compliance training marketplace covering OSHA, environmental, and safety topics. An emerging player in adjacent compliance LMS categories that competes for the same per-user training budgets as EnergyU.

Direct peers

• Edison Electric Institute: National trade association for U.S. investor-owned electric utilities, offering conferences, executive education, and policy advocacy. Mirrors MEA's combination of member-funded events, training content, and industry-level convening for electric distribution utilities.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: National service organization for rural electric cooperatives providing training, conferences, and workforce development programs. Highly comparable to MEA's electric-side training portfolio and member-driven cooperative content model.
• Vector Solutions: Commercial provider of compliance, workforce, and LMS solutions including operator qualification and utility safety training. Direct competitor to EnergyU in OQ/utility compliance learning, serving many of the same utility and contractor customers via subscription.
• American Gas Association: National trade association for the natural gas industry, providing events, advocacy, technical resources, and training content to gas utilities. MEA actively partners with AGA on mutual assistance and shares an overlapping gas-utility member base, making it the closest structurally-comparable peer.
• American Public Gas Association: National association representing municipal, state, and publicly-owned natural gas utilities, offering advocacy, training, and events. MEA partners with APGA on gas mutual assistance coordination and shares many of the same gas distribution and combo-utility members.

Others

• National Safety Council: Long-standing U.S. safety advocacy and training organization providing OSHA-aligned curriculum, certifications, and conferences. Tangentially comparable in safety training content and industry convening, but does not focus on utility-specific OQ.
• American Water Works Association: International trade association for water utilities offering conferences, certification, and standards. Peer by membership-driven association model and training/event portfolio, though serving a different utility sector without direct OQ overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Skillsoft: Large enterprise learning platform providing compliance, leadership, and safety content across industries. A broader incumbent that overlaps EnergyU in OSHA/safety and leadership content but lacks MEA's utility-specific OQ consensus library and member community.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCMVeoH7YdOcNxOf2bWIB12Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/MEAenergy1905
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mea-energy-association
• Xtwitter.com/MEAenergy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Midwest Energy Association