Rockford, MN (February 12, 2020) — As part of ongoing efforts to ensure electric reliability, Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association (WH) recently energized its newest substation in Cokato, Minn.

Substations such as the new Brooks Lake Substation are used to convert high voltage electricity from power plants into lower voltage levels suitable for distribution to homes and businesses. This substation is located just northeast of Cokato along County Road 4.

“The Brooks Lake Substation is the first of two major projects being constructed or rebuilt in the area to serve members in southwestern Wright County,” said Lance Hovland, vice president of energy distribution and generation. “Recent commercial growth has pushed surrounding substations to their capacity, and in the event of a substation outage, it was critical to reduce the distance between them. These projects will provide excellent power quality and reliability for years to come.”

WH invested $1.5 million in the new substation, which took five months to build. The substation will supply up to 10.5 megawatts of energy.

Initial planning for Brooks Lake began in the fall of 2018. The city of Cokato approved the Conditional Use Permit on Dec. 13, 2018, and the ground was broken in June of 2019. The substation was energized on Feb. 4, 2020, and will begin providing electricity to members in the Cokato area later in the month. The new substation will immediately serve 940 members.

Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility that provides power to rural Wright County and western Hennepin County. The cooperative has been a corporate citizen to the area since 1937 and currently serves more than 50,000 electric accounts. It is headquartered in Rockford, Minn.