About Us

Electricity came to most cities in the United States in the 1930s, but rural residents were left in the dark. The Federal Government established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to help solve this problem. The REA offered low-interest, long term loans to existing electric utilities, which allowed them to extend service to the sparsely populated countryside. Most investor-owned companies refused to participate believing that rural residents would not use enough electricity to make the venture profitable.

Therefore, rural Americans took the matter into their own hands and formed cooperatives, applied for loans from the REA and set up their own electric systems. As part of this process Intercounty Electric, Mitchell and Tri-County Electric, Plankinton were formed; Intercounty Electric in 1937 and Tri-County Electric in the late 40s.

In 2000 Intercounty and Tri-County consolidated to become Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. Since consolidation Central Electric has branched out and provides an array of sales and services for the general public. We service all brands of appliances and sell GE, LG and Hotpoint. Our electrical service department offers service for farm, residential and commercial wiring and our HVAC department provides service and installation of all your heating and cooling needs.

Central Electric’s headquarters is located in Mitchell with a district office in Plankinton. We have outposts in Kimball, Wessington Springs and Howard.

Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a part of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives and provides electric power to over 4,700 farm, residential and commercial consumer-members in South Dakota to Davison, Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Jerauld, Sanborn, Miner and Hanson counties. Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are local, active members of their communities dedicated to building our communities and improving our way of life.

Our Mission:

Providing Reliable Energy & Services at a Good Value.

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M - F // 8:00am - 5:00pm1420 N. Main Mitchell, SD 57301 // 800.477.2892 // cec@centralec.coop