Merger of Great River Energy finalized
Elk River, Minn. -- Great River Energy announced today the completion of the planned merger of Cooperative Power Association (CP) and United Power Association (UPA) with and into Great River Energy, effective May 1, 2006. As anticipated, Great River Energy received all necessary approvals from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and other parties to complete the merger.
Great River Energy was formed on January 1, 1999 to provide consolidated operations for the combined CP and UPA systems, although both organizations continued to own their assets and remained responsible for their liabilities. Also at that time, CP’s and UPA’s member cooperatives signed long-term power purchase contracts and transmission service agreements with Great River Energy, and the RUS gave its initial approval to the consolidation. With the merger, Great River Energy has now assumed full ownership of all rights and property and has become responsible for all liabilities and obligations of both CP and UPA.
“We’ve worked hard to reach this important milestone, and Great River Energy is prepared to continue to deliver on our promise of providing our member cooperatives with reliable wholesale power at competitive rates in an environmentally sensitive manner,” said David Saggau, Great River Energy president and chief executive officer. “The completion of our merger will ensure that Great River Energy successfully meets future energy challenges and continues to grow.”
Great River Energy is Minnesota’s second largest wholesale power supplier with more than $1.8 billion in assets and annual revenue totaling approximately $700 million. As a generation and transmission cooperative, Great River Energy provides wholesale electric service to 28 electric distribution cooperatives serving more than 600,000 member/consumers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, or about 1.7 million people. Great River Energy and its member cooperatives are not-for-profit cooperatives owned by the consumers they serve.
