HURON — East River Electric Power Cooperative’s chief member and public relations manager Chris Studer was the featured speaker at Thursday’s District 22 Democrat forum.

Studer opened by explaining the background of East River Electric. He said that East River was initially created to transfer power from the Missouri River dams to rural customers. Over time, power needs have grown beyond what the dams could provide, and in the 1960s, East River expanded to provide generated electricity through Basin Electric along with the hydroelectricity that it was already providing.

Studer then explained the current legal case with Dakota Energy Cooperative that was filed in November 2020.

Dakota Energy’s contract was signed in 2015 and runs through 2075. Studer said that power plants and transmission lines are extremely capital intensive, requiring long-term contracts with cooperatives to allow East River to finance investment in infrastructure to provide energy and continue servicing electric lines, stations, and plants.

The lawsuit filed, per Studer’s explanation, was to break the long-term contract through a buyout.

Dakota Energy requested a buyout, the East River Energy board cited the contract in declining to offer a buyout number, and the lawsuit was filed.

Studer attempted to explain where where power would come if Dakota Energy were to get a buyout. He indicated that the transmission lines that would be carrying Dakota Energy power would be owned by East River.

“East River board of directors regulates the use and rates charged on our transmission lines,” Studer explained when asked if East River would restrict the use of Dakota Energy on East River transmission lines, were the the buyout to happen.

“As a member cooperative of East River, they (Dakota Energy) currently own those lines, so it could be a situation where they have to rent from East River. They no longer have that equity once they buy out. It’d be a similar situation to me selling my house, giving up all the equity I’d built in the house, and then renting from the new owner for the rest of my life.”

Studer did express that the legal fees for this would likely be paid by members of both Dakota Energy and East River Electric in the end as well, regardless of the outcome.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has not yet weighed in how it will classify a cooperative organization that is purchasing its energy through a for-profit company. That PUC designation could be important as well.

Dakota Energy Cooperative member Pat Doak attended the meeting and discussed the recent lawsuit, sharing the concern that members have regarding the board making the decision without taking a member vote.

He announced to the forum that he and a group of fellow members had circulated a petition to call for a member meeting, per the Dakota Energy bylaws. That petition required 230 signatures to call for a meeting, and, according to Doak, there were “nearly 300” signatures on the petition, which was turned into the Dakota Energy board on Wednesday.

The Dakota Energy board now has 30 days from the time that it received the petition to notify members of a meeting.