Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency

What Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency does

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) is a not-for-profit joint-action agency founded in 1977 and headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota. SMMPA generates and transmits wholesale electricity to 17 non-profit, municipally-owned member utilities that collectively serve 129,789 end customers across Minnesota. The agency operates under a customer-owned cooperative structure, employs approximately 50 people, and is governed by a board composed of member municipality representatives with no external parent or equity ownership. Long-term power sales agreements (PSAs) with members — Austin Utilities extended its PSA to 2050 — anchor recurring wholesale revenue, the primary monetization mechanism.

SMMPA's owned generation portfolio exceeds 280 MW, comprising more than 209 MW of wind, 5 MW of solar, 3.7 MW of biomass, landfill gas-to-electricity, and 63 MW of natural gas-fired generation from the Fairmont Energy Station (25 MW, completed 2014) and the Owatonna Energy Station (38 MW, completed 2017). The agency also holds joint ownership in the Sherco 3 coal-fired plant, which is slated for retirement under the SMMPA 2.0 strategic initiative. In February 2020, SMMPA launched SMMPA 2.0, a roadmap committing to a 90% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 (vs 2005 levels), 80% carbon-free energy by 2030, and alignment with Minnesota's 2023 legislation requiring 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. The agency supplements its generation business with energy efficiency rebate programs ($3 million paid in 2024), an EV charging network (deployed in 2020 via partnership with ZEF Energy), and advocacy on behalf of its members at state and federal levels.

SMMPA's business model combines wholesale electricity sales with transmission services, regulatory advocacy, and value-add programs such as energy efficiency rebates and EV infrastructure. Distribution is direct wholesale via long-term PSAs to the 17 member utilities. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The agency is currently a co-applicant on the PowerOn Midwest transmission project (filed February 2026 with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission) alongside Great River Energy, ITC Midwest, and Xcel Energy — a 765 kV backbone connecting southern Minnesota to eight other Midwestern states. The agency's competitive positioning is anchored in regulatory structure, scale economies unavailable to individual member utilities, and sustained safety and sustainability recognition (seven consecutive Minnesota Governor's Workplace Safety Awards; 2024 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year).

Name

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency

Legal name

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency

Website

https://smmpa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) is a not-for-profit joint-action agency that generates and transmits wholesale electricity to 17 municipally-owned utilities in Minnesota, serving 129,789 end customers. Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Rochester, MN.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Electric Utility Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Electric Services (4911), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) / Municipal Aggregation Retail Supply (EUAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Regulated Residential & SMB Retail Supply (Default/Standard Offer) (EUAGABAA)

Keywords

• Wholesale electric supply
• Municipal power agency
• Joint-action utility
• Renewable generation portfolio
• Energy efficiency programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Electricity Sales: SMMPA generates and transmits wholesale electricity to its 17 non-profit, municipally-owned member utilities. Revenue comes from long-term power sales agreements with member utilities. The agency is structured as a not-for-profit joint-action agency created by its members in 1977.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) is a not-for-profit joint-action agency that supplies wholesale electricity generation and transmission to 17 municipally-owned member utilities serving 129,789 customers across southern Minnesota. Its offerings include a diversified generation portfolio (wind, solar, biomass, natural gas, and coal joint ownership), coordinated central dispatch, energy efficiency rebate programs, and an EV charging network operated in partnership with ZEF Energy.

Product overview

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency operates as a not-for-profit joint-action agency providing wholesale electricity supply to 17 member municipal utilities. The organization utilizes a diverse energy mix including wind (209+ MW), solar (5 MW), biomass (3.7 MW), natural gas generation (63 MW from Fairmont and Owatonna Energy Stations), and is transitioning away from coal through its SMMPA 2.0 initiative. SMMPA complements its generation portfolio with energy efficiency rebate programs and electric vehicle charging infrastructure through member utilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wholesale Electricity Supply Centralized generation and transmission coordination that delivers wholesale electricity to 17 municipally-owned member utilities across southern Minnesota, serving 129,789 end customers. Supply is backed by a diversified generation portfolio and long-term power supply agreements.
• Wind Generation Supply Renewable wind generation contributing more than 209 MW of capacity to SMMPA's diversified wholesale power portfolio for member utilities.
• Solar Generation Supply Solar generation providing 5 MW of capacity within SMMPA's diversified generation portfolio for member municipal utilities.
• Biomass Generation Supply Biomass generation contributing 3.7 MW of capacity to SMMPA's diversified generation mix for member utilities.
• Natural Gas Generation (Fairmont and Owatonna) Natural gas peaking generation totaling 63 MW across the Fairmont (25 MW) and Owatonna (38 MW) facilities, providing flexible capacity in SMMPA's supply portfolio for member utilities.
• Sherco 3 Coal Joint Ownership Joint ownership interest in the Sherco 3 coal generation facility, contributing baseload capacity to SMMPA's diversified supply portfolio for member utilities.
• Energy Efficiency Rebate Programs Rebate programs that fund energy efficiency measures for end customers of SMMPA's 17 member municipal utilities, supporting demand-side energy savings.
• EV Charging Network (ZEF Energy partnership) Public EV charging network made available through a partnership with ZEF Energy, giving member municipal utilities and their customers access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced 8.9 million tons of CO2 emissions since 2005 - equivalent to removing nearly 1.5 million passenger cars from the road
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Great River EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Great River Energy, along with ITC Midwest and Xcel Energy, submitted a joint application for the PowerOn Midwest transmission project. This project would connect southern Minnesota with eight other Midwestern states and include the largest transmission lines ever built in Minnesota (765 kV backbone).
• ITC MidwestcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026ITC Midwest partnered with Great River Energy and Xcel Energy for the PowerOn Midwest transmission project application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
• Xcel EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Xcel Energy is a partner in the PowerOn Midwest transmission project application along with Great River Energy and ITC Midwest, aiming to improve grid reliability as energy generation shifts toward renewables.
• ZEF EnergycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2020SMMPA partnered with ZEF Energy, the largest independently owned and operated DC Fast Charging Network in Minnesota and Wisconsin, to install EV charging infrastructure. ZEF Energy was selected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to install charging stations as part of the Volkswagen settlement. SMMPA member municipal utilities committed to establishing an EV charging network with DC Fast Chargers and Level 2 chargers in each community.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lower Colorado River Authority: LCRA is a public wholesale power provider in Texas that sells electricity to retail utilities and end customers via a diversified generation portfolio. Its public-power wholesale model and ongoing transition away from coal make it a structural analog to SMMPA.
• PowerSouth Energy Cooperative: PowerSouth is a generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution cooperatives across Alabama and northwest Florida. Its wholesale generation model and member-owned cooperative structure are directly comparable to SMMPA.
• Missouri River Energy Services: MRES is a not-for-profit joint-action agency that generates and transmits wholesale electricity to member municipal utilities across the upper Midwest. It mirrors SMMPA's structure, scale, and reliance on long-term member power sales agreements, making it the most structurally comparable peer.
• Dairyland Power Cooperative: Dairyland is a generation and transmission cooperative serving member distribution cooperatives across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. Its wholesale generation, transmission, and member-utility model is directly comparable to SMMPA's joint-action structure.
• Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Oglethorpe is a generation cooperative providing wholesale power to 38 member EMCs in Georgia. Its member-owned G&T structure and diversified portfolio (including gas, nuclear, and renewables) closely align with SMMPA's wholesale cooperative-style model.
• Minnkota Power Cooperative: Minnkota is a generation and transmission cooperative serving member cooperatives in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Its portfolio (coal, wind, baseload renewables) and member-utility model closely parallel SMMPA's wholesale generation business.
• Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. AECI is a generation and transmission cooperative supplying wholesale power to member distribution cooperatives across Missouri, Oklahoma, and surrounding states. Its cooperative ownership, G&T structure, and coal-to-renewables transition are directly comparable to SMMPA.
• Nebraska Public Power District: NPPD is a public wholesale power provider that generates and transmits electricity to retail systems in Nebraska. Like SMMPA, it is a publicly-owned wholesale supplier with a diversified mix (including wind and coal) and a transition mandate underway.

Broad incumbents

• Great River Energy: Great River Energy is a Minnesota-based generation and transmission cooperative serving 28 member distribution cooperatives. As SMMPA's partner in the PowerOn Midwest joint application, it operates in the same state and customer space but is materially larger, positioning it as a broader incumbent rather than a like-sized direct peer.

Regional players

• Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD): SMUD is a publicly-owned electric utility serving the Sacramento region with a vertically integrated, renewables-heavy portfolio. While much larger and retail-facing, its publicly-owned model and aggressive carbon-free goals make it a useful regional analog for SMMPA's transition trajectory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-minnesota-municipal-power-agency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency