History
The Upper Grand River Electric Association was organized July 12, 1946, in Bison, South Dakota. Prior to this organization, virtually no rural utility services existed in this area. On January 9, 1950 the organization coverted to Grand Electric Cooperative, Inc. A nine-man Board of Directors was established to govern the cooperative.
Construction
- A-1 Section Northeast portion of system including Lemmon, White Butte, Meadow, Bison and Prairie City.
- A-2 Section Balance of northern Perkins County and into eastern Harding County including Lodgepole and Ralph areas.
- B Section South half of Perkins County plus Ralph and Sorum areas and the town of Buffalo.
- C Section Stoneville, Red Owl, Maurine, Mud Butte, Castle Rock, and Hoover areas.
- D Section Coal Springs, Redig, Harding, Ladner and Camp Crook areas.
- The Buffalo outpost was established in 1953
- The first oil wells began being served in 1959
- The first missile sites began being served in 1961
- The first oil field compressors came on line in the late 1970's
- The J.R. Riedy substation was constructed in 1982
- The Bowman substation and transmission line was constructed in 1989
- Large oil field compressor loads came on line in 1990 and 1994.
- Last missile sites were deactivated in 1994.
Storms
Grand Electric suffered from several severe storms in the past decade.
March 18, 2003: Several inches of rain, followed by a drop in temperature created thick ice on the lines in the Buffalo area. 246 poles were lost and crews from Butte Electric, Moreau-Grand Electric, Black Hills Electric, West River Electric, Cam-Wal Electric, FEM Electric, Brink Construction and Boldt Construction were called in to assist.