On January 5, 1949, representatives from thirteen western Iowa rural electric cooperatives met at the Lewis Hotel in Cherokee, Iowa, to form an electric transmission cooperative to source and deliver electric power to the homes and farms in rural western Iowa.
While the obstacles that challenged the area’s electrification efforts were daunting, NIPCO’s founders envisioned creating an organization to secure a reliable and affordable power supply and construct and maintain a state-of-the-art electric transmission system that would serve the membership for generations. Seventy-five years later, the faces and challenges have evolved, but NIPCO remains focused on these core services while adapting to meet the ever-changing needs of our members.
As we stand on the threshold of our seventy-fifth anniversary year, we take pride in our enduring commitment to the past, our dedication to the present, and our unwavering commitment to shaping a brighter future for our member distribution cooperatives and the communities of western Iowa.
Throughout 2024, we will take some time to share highlights from NIPCO’s historic journey while debuting some bold ideas as we look to NIPCO’s future. Thank you for being a part of this historic occasion. Let’s continue to make history together.
