Rural co‑ops, Basin Electric outline application, cost‑sharing and upfront security for large loads

Representatives of North Dakota’s distribution cooperatives and Basin Electric told the interim committee that co‑ops and generation‑and‑transmission (G&T) providers are adapting onboarding and finance rules to protect legacy members from stranded costs while enabling large industrial and data‑center development.

"A cooperative is a business or other organization which is owned and governance, owned and governed by its members owners who share the profits or benefits," said Zach Smith, communications and government‑relations director for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives. He explained co‑ops operate "at cost" and return excess as capital credits; local boards made up of members govern decisions like service expansions and rate changes.

Smith described the practical front‑line screening process for large loads: location near existing infrastructure, whether a new substation is required, expected maximum demand, operating hours, phasing and whether on‑site backup generation or demand response will be used. If distribution capacity is insufficient, requests are escalated to G&T providers.

Jean Schaefer, Basin Electric senior legislative representative, described Basin's new large‑load program, adopted by Basin's board in June and opened to applicants June 13. "Has anybody applied? Yes. We've had 12 applicants for the program," Schaefer said, and she added that 10 were approved, one withdrew and another is under further analysis. She said the 12 projects total roughly 6,000 megawatts — more than Basin's recent system peak.

Under Basin's program, developers must prepay power‑supply and transmission studies, provide contributions in aid to construction and cover upgrades required to serve the load. Basin aggregates related loads under common ownership to prevent developers from splitting projects to avoid thresholds; data‑center/A I loads face a 25‑megawatt threshold, other place‑based loads (e.g., processing facilities) 75 MW and emerging technologies are evaluated by characteristic rather than size.

Speakers emphasized derisking legacy members: asking developers to pay upfront study fees and to fund required transmission or substation construction so existing cooperative members do not underwrite speculative or stranded assets. Smith noted co‑ops sometimes require security deposits and that member control means boards face direct political pressure around rate decisions.

Both witnesses said the industry is tightening onboarding procedures because recent load inquiries are much larger and faster than historical growth, and both urged early engagement from prospective customers to avoid long lead times for transformers, turbines and other equipment.