Powerful weekend storm causes widespread damage across Minnkota system

A powerful storm system swept across the Upper Midwest over the weekend, causing substantial damage to Minnkota Power Cooperative’s entire power delivery system – stretching from western North Dakota to northwest Minnesota. The severe weather event left a trail of destruction across an incredibly wide region, prompting a massive restoration effort by Minnkota’s power delivery crews and member cooperatives.

Although total damage estimates and costs are still being compiled, it appears this storm’s impact will be among the most significant in Minnkota history.

“This is one of the most widespread storm events we’ve ever experienced,” said Dan Inman, Minnkota senior vice president of power delivery. “As we move forward, safety remains our top priority, and we will continue working with determination until all restoration work is complete.”

Extensive impacts to both transmission and distribution systems were experienced on June 20-21, with damage ranging from downed power lines and broken poles to toppled transmission structures and damaged substations. Crews have been working around the clock since the storm passed, navigating difficult terrain and hazardous conditions to assess the full extent of the damage and make repairs.

As of June 23, all Minnkota substations are energized and operating. However, extensive work remains, particularly on the transmission side. In western North Dakota, 33 structures on a 230-kilovolt (kV) line are down. Crews are also addressing damage on Minnkota’s 345-kV transmission system (approximately four structures), which is essential for long-distance power delivery. Additionally, repairs continue on the 69-kV system (more than 40 structures and counting), where damage has been identified throughout the service territory. Importantly, redundancy built into Minnkota’s power delivery system has helped bring power back to many communities while repairs continue.

Despite the scale of the event, Minnkota emphasized the strength of its unified response.

“We are incredibly proud of the tireless efforts of our line crews, system operations staff and all Minnkota employees who have stepped up in this time of need,” Inman said. “We also want to extend our sincere thanks to our utility partners who have provided additional resources and support. This kind of cooperation and dedication helps accelerate our restoration and response times significantly.”

Minnkota’s member cooperatives, which provide retail electric service throughout the region, are also reporting major system damage. Lineworkers across the cooperative network have been deployed to priority areas, focusing first on hazards and critical infrastructure, with restoration work expanding as damage assessments are completed.

Minnkota urges the public to stay clear of any downed power lines or damaged electrical equipment and to report outages or hazards to their electricity provider.

Minnkota expressed deep appreciation for the patience and understanding of its members and local communities during this challenging time.

As the repairs continue, updates will be provided through Minnkota’s website and social media channels.

MAIN IMAGE: Minnkota crews raise a new 69-kilovolt transmission line structure northeast of Grandin, North Dakota.