About Us

A little about Rosebud Electric Cooperative

Today Rosebud Electric Cooperative is the tenth largest rural electric among twenty-nine rural electrics in the state. A nine member electric board of directors governs the Cooperative. It employs twenty-three people to maintain the 2,500 miles of line and serve the 5,200 metered accounts in the three county area. The cooperative serves the towns of Fairfax, Bonesteel, Herrick, Gregory, Dallas, Colome, Witten and Hamill.

Like many rural electrics, Rosebud Electric has a low density service area. The cooperative serves 2 metered accounts per mile of electric line compared the large power companies that will serve 40 accounts per mile of line.

Despite the low density, the members of the cooperative do have one of the lowest electric rates in the state and nation.

Our Service Area

Our 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.