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A History of Elk River Municipal Utilities: Part II
<br /> This section was completed for the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission in 2015 by Rachel Peterson,Penny
<br /> Petersen,and Charlene K.Roise,Hess,Roise and Company
<br /> New Territory, New Leadership
<br /> The previous history of Elk River Municipal Utilities(ERMU)concluded that only one
<br /> prediction for the future was certain: both the utilities industry and the community served by
<br /> ERMU would grow and evolve. Over the past two decades,that projection has proven accurate.
<br /> As Elk River has changed, the services of ERMU have expanded and diversified along with it.82
<br /> The City of Elk River merged with Elk River Township in 1977 partly to strengthen its position
<br /> among other communities in central Minnesota. This merger also strengthened ERMU's
<br /> purchasing power with the United Power Association(UPA), which supplied it with electricity.
<br /> That same year, ERMU joined the United Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, further
<br /> increasing its ability to negotiate low rates with power providers.83
<br /> ERMU has long purchased at 17 A ,���s`
<br /> least a portion of its power _ .� a
<br /> � r
<br /> from outside sources. Post- =-— i� • _ \t"r
<br /> World War II increases in the �' �;��, ■►
<br /> use of large appliances = -
<br /> contributed to a rising demand ' 4 1:� "1 • Ill I . 24
<br /> for power that was too high u' 4, :i\ I , a r e -
<br /> for ERMU to meet on its own. ' .. ^; t ' t F`i ii vow
<br /> Beginning in 1951, the Elk 4dF�s>> ''°L's, 211 i I \it; ` , ;�
<br /> g g .
<br /> River Utilities Commission . '` .•',,`�� ;..- .i ^ ',h''
<br /> decided to purchase electricity _
<br /> through Anoka County
<br /> Cooperative and the Rural t
<br /> Cooperative Power `,' r 'c,4444.,:,,.:
<br /> frAva Association. To improve local , , , << r(, •. rf ° x.,.. �®
<br /> distribution,two new . ,�,1 f,w .tom.,** :,y> ,.,, t �,, .._,fiR9'';
<br /> substations were constructed __....,... 99d ,.. ..•a1 Asa'::=.a.rxx' ° .°F
<br /> in 1978 and 1984.84 Power Plant Substation
<br /> (Elk River Municipal Utilities)
<br /> ERMU is a municipal utility
<br /> and is therefore connected to the City of Elk River. The relationship between the two entities has
<br /> been a complex one. ERMU is owned by the city and governed by a commission,with the
<br /> commissioners appointed by the city. As a municipal entity,ERMU does not pay property taxes.
<br /> In lieu of taxes, ERMU and the city agreed that ERMU would pay a flat sum to the city every
<br /> year.
<br /> 82 Hess,Roise and Company(hereafter HRC),"A History of the Elk River Municipal Utilities,"24.
<br /> 83 Ibid.,23.
<br /> 84"Elk River Municipal Utilities Celebrates Fifty Years of Service to Elk River and Surrounding Areas,"Elk River
<br /> Municipal Utilities(hereafter ERMU)files;HRC,"A History of the Elk River Municipal Utilities,"23.
<br /> 93
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