Northern Electric Cooperative

What Northern Electric Cooperative does

Northern Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative founded in 1941 (originally as the James River Valley Association) and headquartered in Bath, South Dakota. The cooperative distributes electricity to more than 4,696 members across Brown and Spink counties in northeastern South Dakota through nearly 2,600 miles of distribution power lines. Wholesale power is procured from East River Electric Power Cooperative (Madison, SD), with the generation mix comprising 49% coal, 39% renewable (wind/hydro), and 12% natural gas and market purchases. Member-owners participate in democratic governance through annual meetings and a nine-member Board of Directors, and excess margins are returned as capital credits based on patronage.

The cooperative's product and service portfolio centers on electricity distribution via a multi-component rate structure (facility charges, energy charges in kWh, coincident demand charges tied to East River's monthly billing peak, and capacity charges). Member-facing technology is built around the NISC SmartHub platform for online bill payment, usage tracking, and account notifications, available as web portal and mobile app. Northern Electric operates an integrated load management/demand response program — coordinated through East River Electric — that controls more than 75,000 electric loads (water heaters, air conditioners, grain bin fans, irrigation systems) and has generated over $188 million in avoided wholesale power costs since 1985. Additional offerings include prepaid billing, automatic ACH withdrawal, a Renewable Energy Credit (REC) program, residential solar interconnection guidance, EV support resources, energy efficiency rebates (heat pumps, water heaters, irrigation management systems, grain bin managers), and the Marathon electric water heater retail program.

Revenue mechanics are predominantly usage-based with no publicly disclosed financial figures; the cooperative operates on an at-cost basis with margins returned to members. The GTM motion is service-territory-driven rather than sales-led: members acquire service by submitting applications, and engagement is cultivated through community channels including the Cooperative Connections magazine, annual meetings, pancake breakfasts, VIP generation facility tours, youth programs, scholarships, and the Touchstone Energy-affiliated Co-op Connections Card discount program. Northern Electric is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative and reported an ACSI customer satisfaction score of 83 versus a utility industry average of 77.

Name

Northern Electric Cooperative

Legal name

Northern Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://northernelectric.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

1941

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Northern Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving more than 4,696 members across Brown and Spink counties in northeastern South Dakota through nearly 2,600 miles of distribution power lines, with load management, SmartHub billing, and renewable energy programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Distribution (221122), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

C&I Renewable Supply & Green Tariffs (Bundled RE, Sleeves, Utility Green Tariffs) (EUAGACAE), Green Tariffs & Utility Renewable Supply Programs (EUAGADAJ), Retail Electric Providers / Competitive Distribution Utilities (where applicable) (EUADABAE), Distributed Storage (Behind-the-Meter Batteries) (EUAMAJAE)

Keywords

• Electric utility distribution
• Rural electric cooperative
• Demand response programs
• Renewable energy credits
• Member-owned utility

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electricity Distribution Service: Northern Electric purchases wholesale power from East River Electric Power Cooperative (Madison, SD) and distributes it to members across Brown and Spink counties. Revenue is generated through a multi-component rate structure including: energy charges (kWh), coincident demand charges (kW during East River's monthly billing peak), capacity charges (based on member's maximum kW), and facility charges (for poles, wires, equipment, and non-power distribution costs). As a not-for-profit cooperative, any revenue exceeding operating costs is allocated back to members as capital credits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Northern Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric distribution cooperative that purchases wholesale power from East River Electric Power Cooperative and distributes electricity across nearly 2,600 miles of power lines to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural members in Brown and Spink counties, South Dakota. It offers SmartHub online account management, multiple billing options including prepaid and automatic withdrawal, demand-response load management, Renewable Energy Credits, energy efficiency rebates, capital credits patronage refunds, and a Co-op Connections discount card.

Product overview

Northern Electric Cooperative provides electricity distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial members in northeastern South Dakota. The cooperative offers a unified member services platform built around SmartHub for account management, bill payment, and electric usage tracking. The product portfolio includes core billing options (standard billing, prepaid billing, automatic withdrawal), energy management programs (load management with third-party system integration), renewable energy options (solar information, REC program), and electric vehicle support. Members can purchase Marathon electric water heaters with load management capabilities to receive rebates. The cooperative also supports members through youth education programs (tours, scholarships, youth excursion), the Co-op Connections Card discount program, and various energy assistance programs. All services are delivered through the SmartHub web and mobile platform, with infrastructure and load management connected to wholesale power supplier East River Electric Power Cooperative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SmartHub Online Account Management Platform Online account management and payment platform allowing members to view and pay bills, track daily and monthly electric usage, set up automatic payments, and manage account notifications. Available as web portal and mobile app.
• Prepaid Billing Service Pay-as-you-go electricity billing service that withdraws funds from a prepaid account daily based on usage, with low balance ($25) notifications and automatic disconnection at $0 balance.
• Automatic Bill Payment (ACH) Automatic withdrawal service that deducts the monthly electricity bill from a member's checking or savings account on the 21st of each month.
• Load Management Program Demand response program that controls electric loads on water heaters, air conditioners, grain bin fans, and irrigation systems during peak demand periods. Members with load-controlled devices receive rebates and special electric rates.
• Rebate Programs Rebate programs covering electric water heaters ($8-$10/gallon), residential heat pumps ($600), commercial heating ($50/ton or $10/kW), irrigation management systems ($1,500), and grain bin managers ($750).
• Renewable Energy Credit (REC) Program Program allowing members to purchase renewable energy credits to offset their electric use with 100% renewable energy sourced from regional wind, solar, and recovered-heat generation projects including Crow Lake Wind, Day County Wind, and PrairieWinds 1. Tiered participation at 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% levels.
• Electric Heat Rate Service Special electric heat rate of $0.055/kWh for 240-volt electric space heating equipment, available to members with qualifying heating systems using a secondary submeter installed by Northern Electric, with a $4.50/month submeter equipment charge.
• Co-op Connections Card Free membership card offering more than 24,000 local and national deals on products and services, including discounts at restaurants, retail stores, services, gas stations, health and wellness providers, and prescription drug discounts at pharmacies.
• Marathon Electric Water Heaters Residential Marathon electric water heaters (85 or 100 gallon) sold at co-op offices that can be connected to the load management system for rebates and monthly bill credits.
• Energy Assistance Programs Member assistance programs including LIEAP (Low-Income Energy Assistance Program), ECIP (Energy Crisis Intervention Program), and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) for qualifying households.
• Capital Credits Allocation and Retirement Annual allocation and retirement of capital credits representing member-owners' share of cooperative margins, including Generation & Transmission capital credits from Basin Electric and East River Electric.
• Electricity Distribution Service Core electricity distribution service purchasing wholesale power from East River Electric Power Cooperative and delivering it across nearly 2,600 miles of power lines to residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural members in Brown and Spink counties.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $188 million in avoided wholesale power costs across East River Electric member cooperatives from load management system since 1985
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Northern Wireless Communications (formerly Northern Rural Cable TV Cooperative, Inc.)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1988Northern Electric created Northern Rural Cable TV Cooperative (NRCTV) in 1988 to bring television to rural areas not served by municipal TV services. NRCTV launched the nation's first rural cooperative wireless cable TV system, serving more than 1,000 subscribers. Renamed Northern Wireless, it later pivoted to high-speed internet in 2010. In July 2017, Northern Electric Cooperative sold Northern Wireless Communications to Northern Valley Communications (a subsidiary of James Valley Telecommunications).
• East River Electric Power CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEast River Electric Power Cooperative (Madison, SD) is Northern Electric's wholesale power supplier. Northern Electric pays East River monthly for energy (kWh) and demand (kW during monthly coincident billing peak). East River operates the load management system on behalf of its member systems. The system has saved electric cooperative members more than $188 million in avoided wholesale power costs since 1985. East River also sends load control notifications to Northern Electric members and dispatches load management events. East River also allocates G&T capital credits to Northern Electric, which Northern's board votes whether to retire.
• Basin Electric Power CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBasin Electric Power Cooperative (Bismarck, ND) is Northern Electric's power supplier, providing generation resources including coal (Antelope Valley Station, Freedom Mine), wind (PrairieWinds 1, Wilton Wind), and natural gas. Northern Electric offers scholarships in collaboration with Basin Electric ($1,000 and $1,500 awards). Basin Electric also allocates G&T capital credits to Northern Electric. The VIP Tour includes tours of Basin Electric facilities.
• South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSDREA is the state association for rural electric cooperatives in South Dakota. Northern Electric partners with SDREA for the Cooperative Connections magazine (published monthly), storm outage maps (outages.sdrea.coop), scholarships, and youth programs including the SDAC scholarship.
• Touchstone Energy CooperativescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTouchstone Energy is a national brand identity representing more than 750 local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives in 46 states, delivering power to 30 million members. Northern Electric is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, using the brand identity and marketing resources. The brand is built on four core values: integrity, accountability, innovation, and commitment to community. Touchstone Energy Scholar of the Week program awards $250 to Northern Electric-nominated students, with a $1,000 Scholar of the Year award.
• Co-op Connections / Connections.coopcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-op Connections Card is a free membership card from Touchstone Energy offering more than 24,000 local and national deals on products and services. More than 37 million cards are in use across the country. Northern Electric members can request a card by calling 605-225-0310, visiting the Bath office, or via email. A mobile app is also available for Apple and Android. Local discounts include Economy Meat Market, Millstone Family Restaurant, Dunham's Sports, Hardin's Photography, and others.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• NISC (National Information Solutions Cooperative): Provider of the SmartHub platform used by Northern Electric for member billing, account management, and load notifications — a key technology supplier to the cooperative's distribution operations.
• REED Fund (Rural Electric Economic Development, Inc.): Economic development financing entity established by East River Electric and its member distribution cooperatives, including Northern Electric, to fund rural business and community projects.

Broad incumbents

• Touchstone Energy Cooperatives: National brand network of 750+ member-owned electric cooperatives serving 30 million members; provides branding, marketing, and programs (such as the Scholar of the Week) under which Northern Electric operates.

Direct peers

• Basin Electric Power Cooperative: Upstream G&T cooperative supplying coal, wind, and natural gas generation to Northern Electric and passing through capital credits — a directly comparable cooperative peer in the same supply chain.
• East River Electric Power Cooperative: Headquarters generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative supplying Northern Electric's wholesale power and operating the shared load management system — the most directly comparable electric cooperative counterpart in the same regional network.
• Charles Mix Electric Cooperative: South Dakota rural electric distribution cooperative with a comparable member-owned model, service territory, and product line of load management, rebates, and SmartHub-based member services.
• Central Electric Cooperative (SD): South Dakota member-owned electric distribution cooperative with similar scale and operations — a directly comparable peer for benchmarking member services, rates, and infrastructure programs.
• Dakota Energy Cooperative: Another Touchstone Energy member-owned distribution cooperative in the same northern plains region, providing rural electric service with overlapping product offerings (load management, rebates, capital credits).

Regional players

• South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA): Statewide association of South Dakota rural electric cooperatives; operates the Cooperative Connections magazine and storm outage maps used by Northern Electric, representing the broader regional cooperative ecosystem.
• James Valley Telecommunications: Acquired Northern Electric's former Northern Wireless Communications subsidiary in 2017; a regional telecom and broadband provider operating in the same northeastern South Dakota geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthernElectricCooperative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-cooperative-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Northern Electric Cooperative