Otter Tail Power Company
Encyclopedia
Otter Tail Corporation is an energy company based in Fergus Falls
, Minnesota
. Its main subsidiary is the Otter Tail Power Company.
As of 2007, Otter Tail Power Company serves at least 423 towns at retail and delivers power to about 14 municipal utilities. The company currently has a workforce of over 750 employees, a generating capacity of 660 megawatts, and owns over 5000 miles (8,046.7 km) of electrical power transmission lines (the majority of which are operated at 41.6kV). The company serves 128,500 customers in North Dakota
, Minnesota
, and South Dakota
.
, North Dakota
.
Shortly thereafter, contracts were secured to provide power at wholesale to the cities of Breckenridge
and Fergus Falls, MN (the latter after their own municipal utility's dam failed). After connecting Foxhome
, MN to the system in 1912, the company connected or purchased electric distribution systems in 10 Minnesota towns (the most prominent being Elbow Lake and Morris, MN) and a second town in North Dakota (Fairmount) the following year. The first South Dakota community served by the company was White Rock in 1915. The company slowly grew to more than 100 towns served by the time the company reached Jamestown, ND in 1924. The company grew at an incredible rate over the next 5 years - reaching the Missouri River at Washburn in 1926 and approaching the Canadian border by 1928. By the end of the 1920s, the company's service area had tripled to serve more than 310 towns. During the Great Depression, the company was apparently not as badly affected as some of its neighbors but was still forced to focus more on survival than growth. By 1939, the worst was past and they were ready to move forward once more.
Between 1940 and 1944, Otter Tail added territory by merger or acquisition of 6 smaller power companies within or adjacent to its territory (almost all of who had corporate parents that were required to divest these properties due to passage of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act in 1935). These purchases increased its territory to its present size of 50000 square miles (129,499.4 km²) - about the same size as the state of Wisconsin
. The one exception in this territory is the Red River Valley between Grand Forks and Fargo, ND - which was then and still is served by Northern States Power Company
(now Xcel Energy
).
After the final major acquisition in 1944, the company had reached its 'maximum system' of 496 towns served at both retail and wholesale. As the company matured over the next several decades, the number of towns served within the region would shrink (mainly due to towns served at wholesale changing suppliers and some smaller retail towns dying out). A few towns were added between 1944 and 1968 - the largest being the purchase of Fergus Falls' municipal utility in 1953 and the last addition being the transfer of several towns in Polk County, Minnesota from Northern States Power Company when their 33kV transmission line serving these towns approached its load limit.
A merger with Montana-Dakota Utilities was briefly explored in the late 1960s but was soon dropped due to all the regulatory hurdles involved. By the 1990s, flat revenues from the utility operations led the company to establish a subsidiary (Varistar) to acquire and oversee non-utility businesses. In 2001, the company changed its name to Otter Tail Corporation with the utility becoming a division within the company. In late 2008, the company completed a reorganization to move the utility operations into a separate subsidiary within Otter Tail Corporation.
. By 2010 wind generation on the system is expected to be equivalent to 18 percent of retail sales. Owned wind resources and power purchase agreements for Otter Tail Power Company include: Luverne Wind Farm, Ashtabula Wind Energy Center, Langdon Wind Energy Center, and North Dakota Wind II.
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Its main subsidiary is the Otter Tail Power Company.
As of 2007, Otter Tail Power Company serves at least 423 towns at retail and delivers power to about 14 municipal utilities. The company currently has a workforce of over 750 employees, a generating capacity of 660 megawatts, and owns over 5000 miles (8,046.7 km) of electrical power transmission lines (the majority of which are operated at 41.6kV). The company serves 128,500 customers in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
History
The company was incorporated in 1907 when funds were secured to begin construction of the Dayton Hollow Dam southwest of Fergus Falls. Once the dam came online in April 1909, the company transmitted power at 22kV over a 25 miles (40.2 km) line to serve the customers of the Northern Light Electric Company at WahpetonWahpeton, North Dakota
The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
.
Shortly thereafter, contracts were secured to provide power at wholesale to the cities of Breckenridge
Breckenridge, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,559 people, 1,438 households, and 911 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,516.4 people per square mile . There were 1,582 housing units at an average density of 674.0 per square mile...
and Fergus Falls, MN (the latter after their own municipal utility's dam failed). After connecting Foxhome
Foxhome, Minnesota
Foxhome is a city in Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 116 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND–MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, MN to the system in 1912, the company connected or purchased electric distribution systems in 10 Minnesota towns (the most prominent being Elbow Lake and Morris, MN) and a second town in North Dakota (Fairmount) the following year. The first South Dakota community served by the company was White Rock in 1915. The company slowly grew to more than 100 towns served by the time the company reached Jamestown, ND in 1924. The company grew at an incredible rate over the next 5 years - reaching the Missouri River at Washburn in 1926 and approaching the Canadian border by 1928. By the end of the 1920s, the company's service area had tripled to serve more than 310 towns. During the Great Depression, the company was apparently not as badly affected as some of its neighbors but was still forced to focus more on survival than growth. By 1939, the worst was past and they were ready to move forward once more.
Between 1940 and 1944, Otter Tail added territory by merger or acquisition of 6 smaller power companies within or adjacent to its territory (almost all of who had corporate parents that were required to divest these properties due to passage of the Public Utilities Holding Company Act in 1935). These purchases increased its territory to its present size of 50000 square miles (129,499.4 km²) - about the same size as the state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. The one exception in this territory is the Red River Valley between Grand Forks and Fargo, ND - which was then and still is served by Northern States Power Company
Northern States Power Company
Northern States Power Company was a publicly-traded S&P 500 electric and natural gas utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that is now a subsidiary of Xcel Energy .-History:...
(now Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy, Inc. is a public utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. Primary services are electricity and natural gas...
).
After the final major acquisition in 1944, the company had reached its 'maximum system' of 496 towns served at both retail and wholesale. As the company matured over the next several decades, the number of towns served within the region would shrink (mainly due to towns served at wholesale changing suppliers and some smaller retail towns dying out). A few towns were added between 1944 and 1968 - the largest being the purchase of Fergus Falls' municipal utility in 1953 and the last addition being the transfer of several towns in Polk County, Minnesota from Northern States Power Company when their 33kV transmission line serving these towns approached its load limit.
A merger with Montana-Dakota Utilities was briefly explored in the late 1960s but was soon dropped due to all the regulatory hurdles involved. By the 1990s, flat revenues from the utility operations led the company to establish a subsidiary (Varistar) to acquire and oversee non-utility businesses. In 2001, the company changed its name to Otter Tail Corporation with the utility becoming a division within the company. In late 2008, the company completed a reorganization to move the utility operations into a separate subsidiary within Otter Tail Corporation.
Wind Power
Otter Tail Power Company currently owns 138 MW of wind generation, and purchases an additional 45 MW for a total of 183 MW of wind powerWind power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
. By 2010 wind generation on the system is expected to be equivalent to 18 percent of retail sales. Owned wind resources and power purchase agreements for Otter Tail Power Company include: Luverne Wind Farm, Ashtabula Wind Energy Center, Langdon Wind Energy Center, and North Dakota Wind II.