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History

KEM Electric Cooperative, Inc. 1944-1985

Nov 1949 Energizing George Jackson farm.jpg

KEM Electric Cooperative, Inc. was organized in 1944, during World War II, some nine years after the birth of Rural Electrification Administration (REA).  The date of incorporation was April 5, 1944.

The original or charter Board of Directors was made up of the following nine dedicated men: S. R. Dosch, Strasburg; Wendelin Wikenheiser, Strasburg; Carl Jacobson, Braddock; Kenneth R. Lynn, Ashley; Art Forsberg, Kintyre; Garret Vander Vorst, Westfield; Fred J. Ohlhauser, Linton; Joseph Vetter, Linton; and Herbert Weber, Hazelton.  These men and long-time Emmons County Extension Agent Ben Barret were the driving force in creating KEM Electric and in bringing electricity to the rural areas of south central North Dakota.

The name chosen, KEM Electric Cooperative, Inc., uses the initials of three of the counties in the service area, Kidder, Emmons and McIntosh.  Logan County was added later to the service area but not to the name.

Pius K. Mastel, Linton was hired in October, 1946 as Coordinator.  The title of the position was eventually changed to General Manager.

It was impossible to obtain construction materials during World War II and as a result actual construction of power lines did not begin until 1947 and 1948.

KEM’s first substation (Danzig) was energized April 2, 1949.  The Danzig sub is approximately eight miles south of Wishek, in McIntosh County.  The first farm energized was that of Wm. C. Giedt (left photo) of Danzig.  The farm was connected April 2, 1949.

small april 2 1949 board of directors watch Danzig substation being energized.JPG   small Setting the first pole near elevator in Danzig Pius Mastel, Sebastian Dosch, Marshall Walters.jpg   William -Bill- Geidt first member April 2 1949.jpg

By April, 1950, three additional substations had been energized.  These were Dawson, Napoleon and Linton subs.

small Nov1949 Energizing Dawson Sub .jpg   unloading a rail car of poles.JPG  wire reels being unloaded from train.JPG

On March 1, 1950 George W. Cornog replaced P. K. Mastel as KEM’s General Manager.

Construction continued at a fast pace for some time.  In 1952, the last large section of new lines—the E-2 section—was completed and in 1953 the E-3 section was also completed, picking up individual farms scattered around the entire service area. 

KEM’s basic electric system remained the same, in large part, until 1965.  By then increased demand and usage of electric energy by the members brought about a major rebuilding program.  Additional distribution substations were constructed, existing feeder lines were rebuilt increasing their capacity, new feeder lines and new transmission lines were built, and an extensive undergrounding of lines was accomplished.

The system now consists of twelve distribution substations—Danzig, Linton, Napoleon, Sukut, Krassna, Steele, Tappen, Hazelton, Ashley, Zeeland, Sunburst and Midway.  The Dawson sub was retired and the original wooden structures of the Danzig and Napoleon substations were replaced with modern steel structures.  In addition, KEM Electric constructed a large 230/41.6 kV transmission substation, the Herbert Weber Substation, at Dawson.  This facility is connected directly to the Western Area Power Administration transmission line and was added to provide much needed additional capacity in the northern portion of the service area.  The substation, named in honor of Charter Board Member Herbert Weber, is owned by KEM Electric but operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities Company, Bismarck.

Taken from an article written by John J. Allensworth, March 1987.
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KEM Electric Cooperative, Inc., with headquarters in Linton, North Dakota, is a distribution cooperative that provides affordable, reliable electrical energy to consumers in the rural areas of four south central counties in North Dakota.  The Cooperative serves rural electric consumers in all of Emmons County, the south half of Kidder County,  the western two-thirds of Logan County and McIntosh County.

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  • Home
  • Your Account
    • Payment Options
    • Reading Your Bill
    • Heating Assistance
    • Capital Credits
    • Electric/Power Bill Policy
    • What is SmartHub
    • Seasonal Use or Absenteeism
    • Snow Birds and Vacationers
    • Credit Card Over The Phone
    • Budget Billing
  • Your Cooperative
    • Contact Us
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Employees
    • Career Opportunities
    • About KEM Electric
    • Energy Sources
      • Basin Electric Power Cooperative Generation
      • WAPA Generation
    • Governance & Document Center
    • Your Partners
      • 3C Construction
      • Basin Electric Power Cooperative
      • CoBank
      • Innovative Energy Alliance Cooperative
      • Maintenance Solutions Cooperative
      • Mid-West Electric Consumers Association
      • Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative
      • National Information Solutions Cooperative
      • National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
      • National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation
      • North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives
      • Roughrider Electric Cooperative
      • Slope Electric Cooperative
      • Touchstone Energy Cooperatives
      • USDA Rural Utilities Service
      • West Dakota Utility Services
      • Western Area Power Administration
    • History
  • Your Community
    • Charitable Giving
      • Operation Round Up Grant Application
      • Rural Development Finance Corporation
    • News
      • Current News
      • ND Living Magazine
      • Connections/Quarterly Newsletter
      • Bill Inserts
    • Annual Meeting
    • Cooperative Day
    • Medora Discount
    • Youth and Education
      • Youth Tour
      • Kid Zone
      • Scholarships
  • Your Outage Information
    • Outage Steps
    • Storm Center
    • Power Restoration
  • Your Safety
    • Report Safety Concern
    • Look Up And Live
    • ND One Call
    • Safety Quiz
    • Electrical Safety Checklist
    • Farm Safety
    • Grain Bin Safety
    • Generator Safety
    • Pad-Mounted Transformers
    • Power Line Safety Tips
    • Tree Planting Guidelines