Midland Power Cooperative celebrated the 41-year electric co-op legacy of Ken Hastings with a groundbreaking May 26 for a substation that will be located at NEW Cooperative’s Cooper location. The Midland Power substation will be known as the Hastings Substation and will support the expansion projects underway at NEW Cooperative.
As a young farmer in the Jefferson area, Hastings was first elected to the Greene County REC board in 1966 and became president in 1982. He served as president until Greene County REC and Hardin County REC merged in 1992, when he stepped down to vice president and became Midland Power’s representative on the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) board of directors. He was also elected to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) board of directors and served from 1990-2004.
“Ken’s leadership skills and forward-thinking philosophy were not only shown throughout the organizations he was a part of, but also in the directors he mentored along the way,” said current Midland Power president Jack Runge.
The NEW Cooperative Cooper facility expansion includes a new grain facility along with a new pelleting feed mill. The projects will expand the location’s grain storage to 3 million bushels and the feed mill will have a total production capacity of 500,000 tons of pelleted feed. It will also add up to 16 new employees.
Midland Power’s substation will be 70 feet by 160 feet and include a 5 MVA transformer. Midland Power’s distribution system upgrade investments will include four miles of power lines and are estimated at nearly $1.6 million, while the transmissions system upgrades will include four and a half miles of transmission line upgrades and is estimated to cost nearly $1.4 million dollars. Midland Power’s distribution upgrade project is expected to be completed by Winter 2021 and the transmission system upgrades are expected to be completed in Spring 2022.
“We’re happy and excited to support growth and additional job opportunities through two local co-ops coming together to add value to both of our memberships in rural Iowa,” said Midland Power CEO Bill McKim.
Midland Power Cooperative is an electric distribution cooperative. Serving rural Iowa since 1937, Midland Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative that provides reliable, affordable electric energy to businesses, industries, farms and homes in portions of 17 counties.
