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East Central Energy - Connecting rural communities - CoBank Site
Connecting rural communities
East Central Energy serves a diverse range of members with 90,000 meters across mostly rural portions of Central Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. The cooperative’s 67,000 members include homes, farms, businesses and even municipalities.
Though ECE is headquartered just an hour north of Minneapolis, most of its territory is still too rural for national providers to provide broadband services. For that reason, under the guidance of its board of directors, ECE made the bold decision to provide broadband service to members in addition to its core business of providing electrical power.
“No one would have judged us if we decided not to implement fiber networks,” said Justin Jahnz, ECE’s president and CEO. “And frankly, it would have been much easier not to take the plunge. But we were confident we could take this on. And most importantly, it would make our members’ lives better—that’s why we made the decision to move forward.”
CoBank has been a crucial partner for many years.
Jahnz notes that COVID-19 highlighted the need for better internet access for homeschooling, telemedicine and other essential services, further justifying the project. “There have been challenges along the way—from permitting, underground locates, material procurement and warehousing, to onboarding new employees while maintaining our organizational culture. It’s going to be worth it,” Jahnz said. “Rural America deserves to be connected—whether we’re providing it or someone else.”
CoBank provided $150 million for multiple advance term loans to facilitate the fiber-to -home broadband project. And over the next four years, all of ECE’s members are expected to have access to high-speed, reliable internet. “Having a strong partner like CoBank alongside us has been extremely important to make this new venture a reality,” Jahnz said.
By the end of 2024, ECE had connected nearly 4,000 homes and businesses to fiber internet using existing electric distribution lines. To date, ECE has installed 2,000 miles of fiber.
“The transition from offering a single service—electricity—to providing fiber internet has been a significant challenge, requiring adjustments in both member and employee perspectives. And we also need to recognize how quickly our industry is evolving,” Jahnz said.
Beyond the completion of its broadband project, ECE is focused on the energy transition and decarbonizing the electric grid, while accommodating the growing demand for data centers and electric vehicles.
“CoBank has been a crucial partner for many years, providing us with quick financing, competitive interest rates and most importantly, valuable industry knowledge. We value the strength of our relationship with CoBank and everything they bring to the table as we navigate these challenges together,” Jahnz said.
