History

Nodak Electric Cooperative has a proud record of 65 years of electrification. During 1939, four individual projects struggled to obtain a secure source of power and to build power lines in the rural areas of northeastern North Dakota. These projects included the Walsh Project in the Walsh County area, the Five Star Project in the Ramsey and Nelson County area, the Red River Project in the Traill County area, and the Forks Project in the Grand Forks County area.

Because of the difficulty in obtaining a firm source of power, these four projects were merged to form Nodak Rural Electric Cooperative, which was incorporated on January 17, 1940. Later that year, Nodak Rural Electric Cooperative became one of several cooperatives in North Dakota and Minnesota who would jointly own and purchase all power requirements from Minnkota Power Cooperative in Grand Forks.

Financing for the construction of power generation and distribution lines was furnished by the Rural Electrification Administration in accordance with the Rural Electrification Act signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 11, 1935.

World War II virtually brought line construction to a halt due to lack of materials and manpower. Following the war, Nodak embarked on a rapid expansion program to provide complete area coverage.

Nodak changed its name to Nodak Electric Cooperative in 1989 to better represent the full clientele the cooperative serves.

The Boards of Directors of Nodak Electric Cooperative and Sheyenne Valley Cooperative voted on March 28, 2000 to approve a merger plan between the two cooperatives. On July 11, 2000 at Nodak's annual meeting, members voted to merge with Sheyenne Valley Electric. At Sheyenne Valley's annual meeting their customers also voted in favor of the merger.

As of January 1, 2001, Sheyenne Valley officially became a part of Nodak Electric. Merging the two systems eliminates redundancies and reduces the overall cost of providing electricity to our customers. As one system, we are able to operate with less personnel, use fewer facilities, and eliminate one governing board of directors.

Today, Nodak provides power to over 13,000 customers. Nodak's service territory covers all or parts of Pembina, Walsh, Ramsey, Nelson, Steele, Grand Forks, Griggs, Benson, Eddy, and Traill counties in North Dakota.