North Dakota Generation and Transmission Cooperative’s Battery Rate Delivers Member Savings, Technology
In 2020, Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin) incorporated a member-owned trial battery rate into its rate schedule to permit its all-requirements contract members to test energy storage technology to reduce peak demand costs. The rate provision allows for up to 150 kilowatts of battery storage per distribution cooperative, and allows the cooperatives to decide when to charge and discharge the batteries. Corn Belt Power Cooperative, one of two Basin members utilizing the incentive, expects to avoid peak demand charges for up to six hours and recover its $3.5 million investment by 2035.