Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative14051 HWY 13, Milnor, North Dakota, United States
Since Jan, 2017
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, most rural people in North Dakota and the rest of the country lived without electricity. Power companies were convinced that they couldn't make money by serving the rural countryside, so they declined to run power lines out to the country.
All across the country, including in North Dakota, rural people were banding together to help themselves by forming electric cooperatives. With the help of government loans through the Rural Electrification Administration (REA), electric cooperatives helped light the countryside. Two such cooperatives, RSR Electric Cooperative and James Valley Electric Cooperative, were among them.
The consolidation of RSR Electric Cooperative (Milnor) and James Valley Electric Cooperative (Edgeley) was approved in June, 1999. Both cooperatives operated as separate entities until the end of the year. In January, 2000, Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative was born.
Dakota Valley members provide input into the operation and management of the cooperative through a nine-member board of directors that are elected to three-year terms.
While the number of members it serves is small, geographically, Dakota Valley is among the largest electric cooperatives in the state. It serves about 6,000 consumers in an area extending from just south of Jamestown to the South Dakota border; and from the Minnesota border extending west nearly to Ashley, N.D.
In June 2005, Dakota Valley Electric's board of directors entered into management and workforce alliance with a neighboring electric cooperative - Northern Plains Electric Cooperative. The business alliance, Cooperative Alliance Management, LLC, allows the structure and identity of each cooperative to remain in place, but enables each in finding savings without any decrease in services to the membership.
On its 4,600 miles of line, Dakota Valley distributes electricity supplied by Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Western Area Power Administration. It is a member of the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and is a member of the Touchstone Energy alliance of electric cooperatives.
Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative, like its predecessors, is dedicated to providing a reliable, affordable source of energy for its members.
Our Mission
Dakota Valley will deliver dependable electric power and energy at fair and reasonable prices. We will deliver an extended range of convenient customer support services, complementary to our core electric and energy business. And we will provide technical assistance, financial tools and human resources that foster community development.
Cooperative Principles
Voluntary and Open Membership
Cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
Democratic Member Control
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. The elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and cooperatives at other levels are organized in a democratic manner.
Members’ Economic Participation
Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative. At least part of that capital is usually the common property of the cooperative. Members usually receive limited compensation, if any, on capital subscribed as a condition of membership. Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes: developing the cooperative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible; benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the cooperative; and supporting other activities approved by the membership.
Autonomy and Independence
Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy.
Education, Training, and Information
Cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives. They inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation.
Cooperation Among Cooperatives
Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.
Concern for Community
While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
| Company Name | Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative |
| Business Category | Electric Power |
| Address | 14051 HWY 13 Milnor North Dakota United States ZIP: 58060 |
| President | Richard Schlosser |
| Year Established | 1941 |
| Employees | 50 |
| Memberships | NA |
| Hours of Operation | NA |
- Electric Power Services
- Electrical Distribution Cooperative