MiEnergy – Celebrating 90 Years as a Cooperative

In 1935, Franklin D. Roosevelt formed the Rural Electricification Administration (REA). A short year later both Hawkeye REC (Rural Electric Cooperative) and Tri-County Electric were formed in 1936. These two companies would later combine to form MiEnergy Cooperative in 2017.

The merger of the two cooperatives was the natural next step for both. At that time, they had shared manager Brian Krambeer for eight years. The merger gave them a stronger cooperative; if there were emergencies to be dealt with, there was a larger pool of employees to work together.

What is it about a cooperative that made MIEnergy a success? According to Brian Krambeer who has been the CEO for 26 years, it is due to the locally elected board of directors, local employees and their concern for the community.

MiEnergy is run by a board of 10 directors chosen from local districts by the cooperative members at their annual meeting. Brenda Tesch, MiEnergy’s Manager of Marketing & Communications, said she appreciated the engagement with the members that their in-person meeting afforded. The meeting this past year was held at the  Mabel Community Center with approximately 200 members attending. It was streamed as well.

MiEnergy also has an advisory committee composed of members who have volunteered to serve on the committee; new members are chosen every three years. The advisory committee meets in the spring and the fall and tours the Dairyland Power Plant, the supplier of wholesale electricity for MiEnergy.

According to Tesch, the committee is a great group to bounce ideas off of. Krambeer added MiEnergy conducts frequent membership surveys focused on gathering feedback from the members.

While MiEnergy sells electricity, Krambeer noted they were really in the people business. When Mabel and Spring Grove had not yet gotten needed broadband access, MiEnergy worked with contractors to provide that access for the communities.

MiEnergy has around 24,000 customers. In addition, it provides wholesale energy to 10 municipalities which sell electricity to their residents.

Dairyland Power has excess generation which allows MiEnergy to be able to grow and manage wholesale power costs. Dairyland Power is the responsible party that must meet the state of MInnesota’s clean energy mandate by 2040.

The electricity sold by MiEnergy currently comes 17% from coal, 43% from natural gas and 40% renewable energy. MiEnergy has several solar plants. While there are no plans to add more solar, MiEnergy is investigating putting batteries on the solar to store the generated energy. Most solar energy is generated during the day, while energy usage peaks at night. So far the cost of such battery systems has been prohibitive.

There has been a 38.5% increase in member participation in the MiEnergy electric vehicle charging program through October 1, 2026. Current fuel prices have made members look for energy alternatives, according to Tesch.

As a cooperative, MIEnergy continues to connect with the communities. Annually, baskets are created which are filled with items purchased from businesses in the local communities. A drawing is held and the baskets are delivered to the winning members. This program was started during Covid to help struggling businesses; it continues to bring smiles to all the winners.

Employees of MiEnergy represent the company in local parades and celebrations, they clean local highways and participate in the Bluff Country Collaborative Career Day event, in the Fillmore County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Annual Conservation Day for sixth graders and in Farm Safety Day in Cresco for fifth graders.

MiEnergy has a successful revolving loan program. This program has provided over $4 million in loans to businesses; as the loans are repaid, the funds are loaned to other businesses. The funding for this originally came from a USDA loan that MiEnergy received. Loans have been given to Sunflower Child & Discovery Center in Decorah, SnoPac Foods in Caledonia, a car dealership in Mabel and several nursing home expansions.

MiEnergy members get another benefit from the cooperative. They receive capital credits; dividends are returned to the cooperative’s customers. In 2025, $2,026,979 capital credits were returned to the customers.

Krambeer shared a compliment MiEnergy received from MInnesota PUC (Public Utilities Commission) — they had noted that they had seen MiEnergy was doing a good job taking care of their members.

Tesch noted that they were seen as a leader in the electric coop utility field. After the flood of 2007, MiEnergy recovered well and created a crisis communication model that other cooperatives are using. The coop uses STAR energy mapping to serve customers more efficiently. When MiEnergy couldn’t take advantage of tax incentives for solar energy, they found other sources to help fund the solar projects. MiEnergy also rolled out a model across the nation for security and video surveillance.

The assumption of Alliant Energy territory in Minnesota was one of the largest acquisitions of an electric company investor-owned by a cooperative.  All of the individual former customers of Allliant became members of local electric cooperatives.

What does the future hold for MiEnergy? According to Krambeer, it will continue to look at the service needs of the members and to provide top service at competitive prices. He quoted the cooperative’s mission, “to take care of our members by safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable services.” Such service will surely continue to make MiEnergy successful for many years to come!