Basin Electric, members discuss power and purpose at 65th Annual Meeting

Basin Electric’s 2026 Annual Meeting of the Membership was held Aug. 12 at the Bismarck Event Center in Bismarck, North Dakota. Hundreds of member cooperative employees, directors, public officials, utility representatives, and guests attended the meeting.

The theme for Basin Electric’s 65th Annual Meeting was “Connected by Power and Purpose.” This theme reflects the cooperative’s commitment to strengthening communities and ensuring that reliable, affordable electricity continues to power the lives of rural Americans.

Wayne Peltier, Basin Electric board president and District 9 representative, reflected on the cooperative’s commitment to serving its members. Peltier emphasized that member priorities guide Basin Electric’s decisions and highlighted the role of directors, committee members, and employees in helping the cooperative meet growing demand and build on its 65-year legacy of service.

Todd Brickhouse, Basin Electric CEO and general manager, discussed how being “Connected by Power and Purpose” means providing reliable, affordable electricity while making strategic investments to meet growing energy demand. He highlighted Basin Electric’s role in supporting U.S. energy independence, reflected on the cooperative’s 65-year history, and outlined the organization’s continued focus on safety, reliability, affordability, and major infrastructure projects that will help serve members for generations to come.

Chris Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and chief financial officer, highlighted the cooperative’s strong financial position and outlined seven key factors that support its long-term stability, including a diverse portfolio of generation and transmission assets, strong liquidity, healthy member economies, long-term power contracts, and access to capital. He emphasized that Basin Electric’s financial strength is measured by its ability to reliably and affordably serve members today while making strategic investments that support future growth and system reliability.

This year’s keynote speaker was Jim Robb, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). Robb spoke about the growing importance of reliable and affordable electricity as Americans become increasingly dependent on power for nearly every aspect of daily life. He noted the critical role electric generation and transmission cooperatives play in maintaining reliability and affordability while highlighting the challenge of modernizing the electric grid without compromising stability.

Other highlights include:

• Chris Baumgartner, Basin Electric senior vice president of Member and External Relations, provided a welcome to meeting attendees and moderated a Q&A session with Robb.
  
  
• A visit from North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven who touched on the importance of American energy development, energy security, and infrastructure investment.
  
  
• The Power and Policy: American Energy Dominance panel was moderated by Ryan Norrell, Basin Electric vice president of Government Relations. It featured John Reiten, deputy executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, and Cyrus Western, Environmental Protection Agency Region 8 administrator, who discussed how current policies are shaping our energy future and associated opportunities.
  
  
• The Operations Connection—presented by members of Basin Electric’s senior leadership team—offered updates on the cooperative’s current operations and marketing activities. Speakers included Gavin McCollam, senior vice president and chief operating officer; Valerie Weigel, senior vice president of Energy Markets and Dakota Coal Company Operations; and Trinity Turnbow, vice president and plant manager at Dakota Gas.
  
  
• The Powering the Future panel, moderated by Andy Buntrock, Basin Electric vice president of Strategic Planning and Communications, touched on how the cooperative is preparing and is uniquely positioned to power the future of rural America. Panelists from Basin Electric’s senior leadership team included Becky Kern, vice president of Resource Planning and Rates; Matt Ehrman, vice president of Engineering and Construction; and Jeremy Severson, vice president of Transmission.