Back to article index by Harlan Fuglesten Third in a series about rural electric cooperatives and the areas they serve.
Utility companies pay taxes-lots of taxes.
So it's not surprising that the tax issue found its way into the territorial integrity debate over Senate Bill 2389, the bill to prohibit co-ops from serving any new municipal electric customers. The RECs countered by noting that they are also major taxpayers and contribute more to state and local coffers than do the IOUs. Let's examine the facts. On the issue of who generates the most tax revenue for state and local government, it is not a close contest. The RECs contribute more tax dollars because the RECs have invested heavily in North Dakota's lignite industry to supply electric power to the state and region.