History
In the early 1930’s, prior to the establishment of electric cooperatives such as Rosebud Electric, rural America was in almost total darkness. Fully 90 percent of our nation’s rural areas were without central station electricity.
In 1936, Congress acted to remove rural areas from the “Dark Ages” when it created the Rural Electrification Administration best known as REA. At first, low interest REA loans were made available to commercial power companies for the purpose of electrifying rural areas. When the power companies failed to take advantage of REA loans, the agency turned to the promotion of locally owned electric cooperatives.
On April 2, 1945, Rosebud Electric Cooperative was incorporated. The newly formed cooperative bought existing electrical facilities from the Interstate Power Company that served the towns in Tripp and Gregory Counties. In 1947 the Cooperative energized its first lines and made plans to build new lines into the rural areas of Tripp, Gregory and portions of Lyman counties.
