Stay Basin! New challenges, professional development, and great people

Basin Electric appreciates its employees and works hard to retain its workforce. The cooperative understands employees, with their combined knowledge, insight, and hard work, are the ones who make the difference. 

In a few short months, Katie Sanders will reach her 11-year anniversary working at Dry Fork Station near Gillette, Wyoming. Sanders, Basin Electric electrical engineer III, grew up in Wyoming and said she moved to Gillette specifically to work at Dry Fork. “When I graduated from college, I really wanted to stay in Wyoming,” Sanders says. “I found the job posting for an electrical engineer at Dry Fork and showed my husband. After researching the company, I thought it might be a good fit for me.” 

Depending on what’s going on around the plant, Sanders says she gets to do a little bit of everything. There are days when she might work with the electrical and instrumentation department, and days when she’ll work with the operations department on current issues that may come up in electrical, instrumentation, or controls systems. Recently, she’s been working on a distributed control system simulator, reviewing relay settings, and focusing on a controls project that has to be implemented in April. “I enjoy the challenges that come from working on different projects,” Sanders says. “I love the work I do, and I learn something new every day.” 

When first hired, Basin Electric provided Sanders with training on the specific equipment she’d be working with on a daily basis. More than a decade later, those training courses and professional development opportunities continue through the BE Leaders program and the Gillette Area Leadership Institute. 

Over the years, people have told Sanders they can tell how much she loves her job simply by listening to her talk about it. Sanders says as much as she loves her work, it wouldn’t be nearly as rewarding if it weren’t for her coworkers. “The best part of my job is definitely the people I work with. They make it fun to come to work each day.” 

Sanders plans to stay on at Dry Fork Station for the foreseeable future. “I have a great job. My husband and I have made Gillette our home and we do not see ourselves leaving anytime soon.”