clearwater polk electric co-op

What clearwater polk electric co-op does

Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution utility cooperative founded around 1947 and headquartered in Bagley, Minnesota. It provides electricity distribution services to residential and commercial member-owners across Clearwater and Polk counties in northwestern Minnesota, operating under a regulated monopoly structure within its defined service territory. The cooperative is governed by a Board of Directors elected from the membership and returns capital credits to both current and past member-owners on an ongoing basis, with cumulative distributions described as millions of dollars over the years.

The cooperative's core technology is conventional electric distribution infrastructure augmented by a small set of digital member-facing tools. SmartHub serves as the online portal for billing, payments, and account management; a Storm Center supports outage reporting and weather-integrated outage maps; and the Nova Power Portal integration supports member-side distributed generation programs. Additional member services include Energy Assistance, Rebate Center, Capital Credits, Co-op Connections Card, GreenTouch environmental initiative, and generator safety resources. Power supply is sourced through a partnership with Minnkota Power, and the cooperative is affiliated with the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives national network, which collectively serves 32 million member-owners.

The revenue model is subscription-style recurring monthly billing to residential and commercial members at regulated electric service rates, supplemented by capital credit allocation cycles and ancillary programs (rebates, distributed generation interconnections). The cooperative follows the Seven Cooperative Principles and operates on a not-for-profit basis, reinvesting margins into infrastructure and returning surplus to members. A new physical facility is under construction, signaling continued capital reinvestment, while the management team is small (approximately seven named administrative and management personnel), consistent with a small rural cooperative scale.

Name

clearwater polk electric co-op

Legal name

Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://clearwater-polk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric distribution utility serving residential and commercial members across Clearwater and Polk counties in northwestern Minnesota, operating since approximately 1947 under a regulated cooperative structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Utility Distribution

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Power Distribution (221122)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEUADABAC

Electric Cooperatives (Rural/Member-Owned Utilities)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Electric Transmission & Distribution (T&D)/Distribution System Operators (DSOs) & Electric Distribution Utilities

Keywords

• Electric distribution services
• Cooperative utility services
• Power outage management
• Member account management
• Energy rebate programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Bagley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Electric Utility Service: Monthly billing for electricity distribution services to residential and commercial members in the service territory

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility that distributes electricity to residential and commercial members in Clearwater and Polk counties in northwestern Minnesota. The cooperative provides monthly electric distribution service, outage management, online billing via SmartHub, capital credits returns, energy rebate and efficiency programs, and member discount programs such as the Co-op Connections Card.

Product overview

Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric utility providing electricity distribution services. The core offering is electric utility service for residential and commercial members in Clearwater and Polk counties, Minnesota. Member-facing services include SmartHub for bill payment and account management, Storm Center for outage reporting, Distributed Generation programs, Energy Assistance, Capital Credits, Co-op Connections Card discount program, GreenTouch environmental initiative, Rebate Center, and Generators programs. The cooperative is affiliated with Touchstone Energy Cooperatives national network and Minnkota Power for power supply.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Operation Round Up: A charitable program where members can round up their electric bills to the nearest dollar, with funds supporting local community causes through the CPEC Trust Fund.

Products and services

• Electric Distribution Service Monthly electric distribution service delivering power to residential and commercial member-owners in the cooperative's service territory in northwestern Minnesota.
• SmartHub Online account management platform enabling cooperative members to make payments, view bills, set up auto-pay and budget pay, and manage their utility accounts digitally.
• Storm Center / Outage Center Outage reporting and tracking portal that integrates weather data and provides outage maps for cooperative members.
• Distributed Generation Program Program allowing members to interconnect distributed generation systems (such as solar) to the cooperative grid, with integration through the Nova Power Portal.
• Energy Assistance Program Financial assistance program for members having difficulty paying electric bills, administered through partner county-level social service agencies.
• Capital Credits Cooperative patronage benefit program that returns capital credit payments to current and past member-owners based on their electricity purchases.
• Co-op Connections Card Member discount card providing savings on prescriptions, health and wellness products, and other goods and services through the Touchstone Energy cooperative network.
• Rebate Center Rebate programs offering members financial incentives for purchasing energy-efficient appliances and equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Capital credits returned to members over years - millions of dollars

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

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 and minor.

• Touchstone Energy CooperativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClearwater-Polk is a member of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, a national network of electric cooperatives that provides resources and leverages partnerships to help member cooperatives better engage and serve their members. Touchstone Energy Cooperatives stand as a source of power and information to 32 million member-owners daily.
• Minnkota PowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinnkota Power is mentioned in connection with power plant tours, the Watch the Wires program for line safety, and general cooperative partnerships. Clearwater-Polk participates in Minnkota-sponsored programs and tours of power facilities.
• SmartHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationSmartHub is an online platform used by Clearwater-Polk for member billing, payments, and account management. The platform enables members to make one-time payments, view bills, and manage accounts online.
• Call 811minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCall 811 is the national call-before-you-dig service that Clearwater-Polk promotes to members. State law requires contacting Call 811 at least two working days before any digging around homes or businesses.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Beltrami Electric Cooperative: Member-owned rural electric distribution cooperative serving Beltrami County and adjacent areas in northwestern Minnesota. Operates under the same Touchstone Energy / Minnkota Power ecosystem as Clearwater-Polk, serving a similar rural member base with comparable service offerings including SmartHub and capital credits.
• Lake Region Electric Cooperative: Rural electric distribution cooperative serving Otter Tail and surrounding counties in west-central Minnesota. Closely comparable as a Touchstone Energy-affiliated distribution co-op serving rural residential and commercial members with SmartHub billing and member-owned governance.
• Wild Rice Electric Cooperative: Member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving Norman, Mahnomen, and adjacent counties in northwestern Minnesota. Directly comparable given similar service territory profile, Minnkota Power wholesale relationship, and member-owned governance structure.
• Roseau Electric Cooperative: Rural electric distribution cooperative serving Roseau County in far northwestern Minnesota. Comparable scale, rural member base, and Touchstone Energy / Minnkota Power affiliation make it a near-perfect structural peer.
• Itasca-Mantrap Co-op Electric: Member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving Itasca and Hubbard counties in north-central Minnesota. Comparable in cooperative structure, rural distribution focus, and member services portfolio.
• Connexus Energy: Largest member-owned electric cooperative in Minnesota serving the northern Twin Cities metro area. Provides a scaled cooperative peer with similar member-ownership model, SmartHub platform, capital credits program, and Touchstone Energy affiliation.
• Stearns Electric Association: Member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving Stearns, Todd, and Morrison counties in central Minnesota. Comparable in cooperative governance, member service programs, and distribution-only electric utility operations.
• Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative: Electric distribution cooperative serving portions of the Minnesota River valley region. Comparable Touchstone Energy-affiliated co-op with member-owned governance and similar member service offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Otter Tail Power Company: Investor-owned regulated electric utility serving large portions of western Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Comparable in serving rural Minnesota electric customers, but operates as a vertically integrated IOU rather than a distribution-only member-owned co-op.

Others

• Minnkota Power Cooperative: Generation-and-transmission cooperative that supplies wholesale power to Clearwater-Polk and other distribution co-ops in the region. Functions as an upstream supplier and strategic partner rather than a competing retailer, but operates within the same cooperative ecosystem and shapes Clearwater-Polk's wholesale cost structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://clearwater-polk.com/updates-news-alerts&t=Updates-News-Alerts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clearwater-polk-electric-co-op

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 →

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