ECE lives its values through initiatives like scholarships and the innovative COOPx program. Over the years, our scholarships, funded by unclaimed capital credits, have helped alleviate the financial burden for thousands of area students.
Investing in the education of our members allows us to positively impact the rural way of life. To date, ECE has contributed over $1 million to local students!
Our co-op’s dedication to education doesn't stop there. We go a step further with COOPx, a one-day immersive experience designed to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of ECE.
Held at Braham HQ on October 17 (during MEA break), COOPx will invite four lucky students to shadow our employees, gaining insights into various aspects of our operations, from line work to fiber services. They can ask questions and even participate in real-life tasks, giving them a taste of what a career in the energy sector entails. By opening our doors and sharing our knowledge, we empower students to envision a future where they can make a meaningful impact in their own backyard.
Please share this year’s COOPx opportunity with students in grades 10-12! The selected students will also receive $500 scholarships to be used for continuing education.
Each year ECE awards scholarships to college-bound high school seniors. All of these scholarships are funded by unclaimed capital credits. Congratulations to our 2024 recipients!
Learn more about ECE's high school scholarship and Power Up programs.
As the summer wind carries the familiar hum of air conditioners, the energy industry focuses on whether the grid can handle the growing load. Rolling blackouts and potential shortfalls in generation capacity are serious concerns for utilities. This sparks public anxiety and can be exploited to cause fear and mistrust about necessary energy efficiency and conservation efforts.
Will this be the summer we run short on electricity? We don’t think so, but it’s a complex issue that extends beyond ECE. Our operations are part of the broader Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) market, which coordinates the generation and transmission of electricity across multiple states.
Great River Energy, our wholesale power supplier, participates in the MISO market by bidding all of its generation resources into it and purchasing energy needed to meet our demands. This approach helps balance supply and demand across a vast region, reducing the risk of localized shortfalls. Moreover, as part of GRE’s resource planning, it must demonstrate it has adequate power supply to be prepared for summer heatwaves.
The potential for rolling blackouts arises when there’s a significant mismatch between supply and demand. Contributing factors include extreme weather events, unexpected outages in power plants, and transmission constraints. The rapid addition of renewable energy sources is beneficial for sustainability but can pose a challenge for grid stability due to their intermittent nature. This is why investments in grid modernization, energy storage solutions, and demand response programs are critical.
We urge you to support energy conservation efforts and stay informed. Simple actions can collectively make a significant impact; consider adjusting thermostats, using energy-efficient appliances, and shifting energy use to off-peak times. While the threat of rolling blackouts can’t be entirely dismissed, your co-op has confidence in our ability to keep the lights on this summer.
At your service we remain,
Justin
Storm season is underway, so be sure to visit and bookmark ECE’s live outage map. Stay in the know with real-time updates. Sort by county or township, and explore outage details like estimated time of restoration, number of members without power, and cause.
Find the outage map through SmartHub and on our Outage Reporting page. 
ECE offers a $500 Rebate on qualifying EV chargers plus special off-peak charging rates. Learn more.
Please avoid approaching pad-mounted transformers. Although they are usually safe, they are not intended for touching, climbing, or playing on because they contain high-voltage electricity that powers numerous homes in your community. Notice a transformer that is unlocked or in need of repair? Call ECE immediately!
Underground power lines can extend in any direction and are not buried very deep. Call 811 to have underground equipment and lines marked within two business days at no cost.
Never landscape, decorate, or install structures near a transformer. Anything in our way could be destroyed or removed because we require clear access to our equipment so we can safely maintain and restore your power. 
Here at ECE, we don’t just LOVE our communities…we LIVE our communities. By directly supporting the people we serve, we hope to enact real change in the lives of our family, friends, and neighbors. When the co-op was created in 1936, electricity was a lifeline for farm survival. Over 88 years later, we’re determined to help our communities go from surviving to thriving. From bridging the digital gap through ECE Fiber, offering Operation Round Up® grants, cleaning up the highway roadsides, and so much more, we’re here for the long haul.