News

The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) announces that Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU) is becoming the twelfth member of MMPA. MMPA is comprised of municipal utilities in Anoka, Arlington, Brownton, Buffalo, Chaska, East Grand Forks, Le Sueur, North St. Paul, Olivia, Shakopee, Winthrop and now Elk River.

MMPA’s electrical power load increases by approximately 20 percent with the addition of ERMU. The agency will begin providing wholesale power to ERMU on October 1, 2018 under a Power Sales Agreement that runs through 2050.

Troy Adams, ERMU’s General Manager, said choosing to partner with MMPA was a careful process. “We spent five years looking at our future supplier partner. As a public power municipal utility, we sought competitive rates, and we wanted to be aligned with other like-minded utilities,” he said.

Adams said other factors leading Elk River to select MMPA are the agency’s modern facilities and innovative renewable energy program, as well as ERMU having a seat on the MMPA Board of Directors along with every other member utility. MMPA member cities have common interests and focus on value creation for the agency as a whole, which also fit with Elk River’s long term vision.

Derick Dahlen, MMPA’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “Elk River is a great fit for MMPA. It is a progressive and growing community. Like the other MMPA members, ERMU is committed to providing their community with competitively-priced electricity.”

ERMU serves 9,300 metered electric customers in a 44 square mile area and has a peak demand of about 60 MW. Elk River’s addition to MMPA follows the inclusion of Shakopee and East Grand Forks in 2004, plus Buffalo in 2005 to the original eight members that formed MMPA in 1992.

MMPA’s long-time management partner, Avant Energy of Minneapolis, is responsible for all aspects of the Agency’s strategic planning, day to day management and operations, and energy facility development.