History of Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative

For over 85 years Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative has been proudly serving the "driftless" area of southwest Wisconsin, a beautiful region left untouched by the glaciers. With our combination of scenery, rich farmland, and a hard-working population available for commercial and industrial businesses, we have a combination of assets that can't be beat anywhere else.

As a member-owned electric cooperative, our employees deliver the power of human connections every day, providing a one source solution for a wide range of energy management needs that maximize value, simplify life, and enhance our local communities.

May 1, 1938

 

REA (Rural Electrification Administration)

May 1938 – President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7037, creating the Rural Electrification Administration (REA).

June 15, 1938

 

Grant County Cooperative

On Wednesday afternoon, June 15, 1938, the first energy substation in south Lancaster was energized, sending the first electricity surging through the wires of the Grant County Cooperative which allowed their first customer, the Clinton Baker family, to flip that switch for the first time!

July 1, 1938

 

Lafayette Electric Cooperative

July 1938 - Lafayette Electric Cooperative was energized with just 26 members.

September 1, 1939

 

Crawford Electric Cooperative

September 1939 – Crawford Electric Cooperative was energized with 179 members and 116 miles of line.

December 1, 1941

 

Dairyland Power Cooperative

December 1941- Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) was formed and serves as our Generation and Transmission source to this date.

January 1, 1944

 

1944

By 1944 there were 2,061 members on 908 miles of line with an average power consumption per member of 108 kWh per month.

1994

July 1, 1951

 

EJ Stoneman Plant in Cassville was energized

July 1951 – The EJ Stoneman Plant in Cassville was energized, while a part of DPC, the state-of-the-art Steam Electric Generating Station provided power to our region until it was sold in 1993 and eventually retired in 2015.

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March 1, 1960

 

Presidential Candidates Visit Area

March 1960 – Presidential candidates, John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey visited our area during the Grant Electric Annual Meeting while both were campaigning.

president

January 1, 1990

 

Lafayette and Grant Electric Cooperatives merge

January 1, 1994

 

Rural Utilities Services (RUS)

Congress reorganized and the REA was replaced by the Rural Utilities Services (RUS).

July 1, 1999

 

Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative Forms

Grant, Lafayette and Crawford Electric Cooperatives merge into Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative.

January 1, 2025

 

2025

There are now 11,836 members and 3,546 miles of distribution line - both underground and overhead - covering over 2,000 square miles of service territory.