Central Iowa Power Cooperative

What Central Iowa Power Cooperative does

Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) is a member-owned, not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) electric cooperative founded in 1946 and headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It generates, procures, and transmits wholesale electricity for 13 member-owned rural electric distribution cooperatives and the SIMECA federation of 15 municipal utilities, ultimately serving more than 300,000 residential and 13,000 commercial and industrial accounts across 58 of Iowa's 99 counties. CIPCO and its members serve roughly 53% of Iowa's rural electric cooperative meters, and since inception have returned about $158 million to members through patronage dividends.

CIPCO operates a diversified energy portfolio of nearly 870 MW of installed capacity across owned and contracted resources. Owned assets include the 110 MW Summit Lake Generating Station in Creston (repowered with natural gas reciprocating engines in 2021) and the planned 240 MW Hickory Grove Generating Station in Scott County, targeted for late 2029. Contracted generation spans wind (Bethel, Elk, Rippey, Heartland Divide, Independence, Prescott), solar (Clarke, Zon Veld, Marshalltown, Urbana, Eastern Iowa, Southwest, and the 100 MW Wapello facility), hydroelectric from the Western Area Power Administration (14 MW), and partial ownership in coal facilities (Walter Scott Units 3 and 4, Louisa Generating Station). Transmission infrastructure comprises nearly 2,000 miles of lines, 39 CIPCO substations, and 333 member delivery points with 24/7 dispatch from facilities in Creston and Wilton. The cooperative is registered with MISO and shares real-time metering data with Alliant Energy in their joint grid area.

CIPCO reported 2025 total operating revenue of $220.7M on energy sales of 3.23 million MWh at an average system rate of 6.49 cents/kWh, generating a $28M net margin and holding $972M in total assets with a 107-person staff. The cooperative monetizes exclusively through wholesale power supply contracts whose rates are set by the CIPCO Board of Directors to recover cost of service; no external equity, parent company, or public listing exists. Member systems are represented on the Board of Directors, and additional support to member communities is delivered through the Rural Economic Development Loan (REDL) program and CIPCO's Revolving Loan Fund. A 2025 partnership with NextEra Energy and Google to restart Iowa's only nuclear facility (Duane Arnold Energy Center), alongside internal tools such as the private Edison AI platform and real-time metering on SCADA, reflects a measured, security-first approach to operational modernization.

Name

Central Iowa Power Cooperative

Legal name

Central Iowa Power Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://cipco.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Central Iowa Power Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit generation and transmission electric cooperative that supplies wholesale power to 13 rural electric member cooperatives and 15 SIMECA municipal utilities, serving more than 300,000 Iowa residents and 13,000 commercial and industrial accounts across 58 counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Power Generation & Transmission

NAICS

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities) (EUADABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Electric Distribution System Owners (Wires-Only Companies) (EUADABAI)

Keywords

• Wholesale power supply
• Electric transmission
• Power generation
• Energy cooperative
• Utility services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Power Sales: CIPCO generates and transmits electricity to its 13 member-owned rural electric cooperatives and 15 municipal utilities (SIMECA). As a not-for-profit cooperative, revenues above the cost of service are returned to members as patronage dividends.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CIPCO is a member-owned, not-for-profit generation and transmission (G&T) electric cooperative that generates and transmits wholesale electricity to its 13 member-owned rural electric cooperatives and 15 municipalities via SIMECA. The cooperative owns and contracts a diverse mix of generation resources (natural gas, wind, solar, hydroelectric, coal, and landfill gas) and operates nearly 2,000 miles of transmission lines delivering power across 58 Iowa counties.

Product overview

Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) is a generation and transmission (G&T) electric cooperative that provides wholesale power and transmission services to 13 member-owned rural electric cooperatives and 15 municipalities (SIMECA). The company operates a diverse, balanced energy portfolio combining owned generation assets with contracted power purchase agreements. Key owned facilities include Summit Lake Generating Station (110 MW natural gas, Creston) and Hickory Grove Generating Station (planned 240 MW natural gas, late 2029). Contracted generation includes multiple wind farms (Bethel, Elk, Rippey, Heartland Divide, Independence, Prescott), solar installations (Clarke, Zon Veld, Marshalltown Gateway, Urbana, Eastern Iowa, Southwest, Wapello), hydroelectric from Western Area Power Administration, and partial ownership stakes in coal facilities (Walter Scott Energy Center, Louisa Generating Station). CIPCO also provides transmission infrastructure (nearly 2,000 miles of lines) and business development loan programs for its service territory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• CIPCO and its Member-owners serve approximately 53% of the rural electric cooperative meters in Iowa
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• NextEra EnergyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2025NextEra Energy and CIPCO announced a collaboration where NextEra will acquire CIPCO and Corn Belt Power Cooperative's combined 30% interest in the Duane Arnold Energy Center. CIPCO will purchase the remaining portion of the plant's output on the same terms as Google. This partnership will restart Iowa's only nuclear facility, targeted for Q1 2029.
• GoogleflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2025Google signed a 25-year agreement to purchase carbon-free nuclear energy from the Duane Arnold Energy Center. Google and NextEra Energy also agreed to explore deployment of nuclear generation nationwide. CIPCO will purchase the remaining output alongside Google.
• ACES PowercoreTechnology or IntegrationACES Power led CIPCO through a detailed IRP process providing expert consultation and modeling for capacity expansion alternatives to meet load requirements reliably and cost-effectively.
• MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator)coreTechnology or IntegrationCIPCO's generation assets are registered with MISO, which manages the electric grid and energy markets across the Midwest. The dispatch and transmission facilities connect to MISO for grid operations.
• Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIPCO provided mutual aid assistance during storm recovery, demonstrating the cooperative principle of Cooperation Among Cooperatives. Mobilized crew to assist with transmission service restoration.
• Corn Belt Power CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorn Belt Power Cooperative provided mutual aid assistance during storm recovery. Also partnered with CIPCO on Duane Arnold Energy Center ownership (combined 30% interest).
• Dairyland Power CooperativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffered mutual aid assistance during storm recovery efforts, demonstrating cooperative mutual aid networks even while dealing with damage on their own systems.
• Basin Electric Power CooperativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOffered mutual aid assistance during storm recovery efforts despite dealing with damage on their own systems.
• Clarke Electric CooperativecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAs a member cooperative, Clarke Electric provides mutual aid assistance to other member co-ops like Farmers Electric during storm recovery, exemplifying cooperative values.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO): Iowa-based generation and transmission electric cooperative with a similar member-owned structure serving rural distribution cooperatives. NIPCO has provided mutual aid assistance to CIPCO and operates in adjacent Iowa territory with comparable wholesale power supply and transmission functions.
• Corn Belt Power Cooperative: Iowa-based generation and transmission cooperative that jointly owns a combined 30% interest in the Duane Arnold Energy Center with CIPCO and has provided mutual aid during storm recovery. Operates the same G&T cooperative model serving rural distribution members in north-central Iowa.
• Basin Electric Power Cooperative: One of the largest generation and transmission cooperatives in the U.S., serving rural electric cooperatives across multiple Upper Midwest states. Operates a diverse generation portfolio (coal, gas, renewables) and wholesale power business model directly comparable to CIPCO's structure and operations.
• Dairyland Power Cooperative: Wisconsin-based generation and transmission cooperative with a similar member-owned structure serving rural distribution cooperatives. Dairyland has provided mutual aid to CIPCO and operates comparable generation and transmission infrastructure within the MISO market footprint.
• Minnkota Power Cooperative: North Dakota-based generation and transmission cooperative serving rural electric cooperatives in the Upper Midwest. Operates a diverse portfolio including coal, wind, and natural gas generation with comparable wholesale supply and transmission business model.
• East River Electric Power Cooperative: South Dakota-based generation and transmission cooperative providing wholesale power and transmission services to member distribution cooperatives. Operates the same Touchstone Energy-aligned cooperative model with diversified generation assets serving rural members.
• Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Georgia-based generation and transmission cooperative serving 38 member electric distribution cooperatives. Operates a similar wholesale power supply model with diversified generation portfolio (gas, nuclear, coal, renewables) for member-owner distribution cooperatives.
• Brazos Electric Power Cooperative: Texas-based generation and transmission cooperative serving distribution cooperative members across the state. Operates comparable wholesale power supply and transmission infrastructure with similar member-owned governance and cost-of-service rate model.
• Seminole Electric Cooperative: Florida-based generation and transmission cooperative providing wholesale power to member distribution utilities. Operates a comparable member-owned cooperative structure with diversified generation assets (gas, solar) and transmission infrastructure.
• Associated Electric Cooperative: Missouri-based generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution cooperatives across multiple states. Operates a similar wholesale power and transmission business model with diversified generation assets and member-owned governance structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CIPCOIA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCedNyryF5xXajgV2UMJB1tg
• Facebookfacebook.com/CIPCOIA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/central-iowa-power-cooperative
• Instagraminstagram.com/CIPCOIA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Central Iowa Power Cooperative