Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative

Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative is one of the nation s 1,000 electric cooperatives. It has nearly 50 employees who share the company goal, "to make life better with electricity. YVEC has come a long way since its humble beginnings and continues to prosper for its 12,000 member-owners. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill allowing the Rural Electrification Administration to make low interest loans available to newly formed utilities, such as YVEC. In February 1937, 16 area Montana pioneers formed the Yellowstone Valley Electric Association, now known as Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative. During the early 1940s, the Billings Substation was the first delivery point to come on line and serve the entire system. Through the years, YVEC has continued to grow and has nearly 20 distribution substations, two transmission substations and more than 2,300 miles of line that serve 14,500-plus meters.