McKenzie Electric Cooperative Anniversary of Power
December 22, 1947
On December 22, 1947, a small group gathered in rural McKenzie County with a Christmas present in store that would light up the countryside. Nearly four years after the initial canvassing by blockmen to garner interest and support for rural electric power, and two years after McKenzie Electric was officially incorporated, power was ready to be distributed to the area.
With chilly temperatures forecast for the evening, members of the Board of Directors, representatives of the Bureau of Reclamation, Montana-Dakota Utilities, REA field staff (lineworkers and engineers), and McKenzie County residents poised to receive power bundled up and met near a temporary substation just north of Alexander. The Lewis & Clark Irrigation and Pumping Station was the stage for the inaugural “throwing of the switch.”
At 5:45 p.m., president of the McKenzie Electric Cooperative Board, Telford Anderson, threw the switch connecting the initial four residential services with power. In the following days and weeks, lineworkers moved throughout the area “heating up” more services. To celebrate this feat and encourage members to finalize the wiring of their homes, a list of members receiving power from McKenzie Electric was published in the McKenzie REA Newsletter.
Throughout the years to come, McKenzie Electric’s service territory would continue to expand to the outskirts of Watford City, Killdeer, and the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
From the beginnings of the cooperative with a membership count of 903 in 1946, to one of the largest distribution cooperatives in terms of power sold with a total member count of 4,807, a lot has changed. But one thing remains true as stated by the founding members of the McKenzie Electric Board of Directors when asked what the aim of the cooperative was, “to make electric energy available to it’s members at the lowest cost consistent with sound economy and good management.”
As we close in on our 80th year as an electric cooperative, we look forward to providing power to the members who call western North Dakota home. From the early days of candlelight and coal burning stoves to the modern convenience’s electricity provides today, McKenzie Electric has had the honor of growing alongside the communities we serve. Thanks to the dedication of our members, employees, and leadership, we look forward to a bright future – one that honors our past while embracing innovation to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
McKenzie REA News - December 15, 1947, Vol. 1 - No. 5
Pictured below, the news clipping from the McKenzie County Farmer
showing the throwing of the switch:
