News > Clean energy, new tech driving big changes to electricity

Clean energy, new tech driving big changes to electricity

March 18, 2022

You don’t notice it when you plug in your toaster or charge your phone, but the way electricity is produced and used is changing rapidly.

Nationwide, about 20% of electricity is generated by renewable resources. Minnesota has a goal of 25% renewables by 2025. Our wholesale power provider, Great River Energy, has pledged to go even further. The cooperative is targeting 50% renewables by 2030 – and it’s on track to get there early.

At the same time, electricity is being used in new ways. New models of electric vehicles are released every year, and the charging network is growing to support them. Many new homes are being wired to be “EV-ready” in anticipation of growing needs for home charging.

What isn’t changing is the importance of electricity that’s reliable and affordable.

Reliability is job one. Stearns Electric works hard to maintain our local distribution system and we work with Great River Energy to ensure our area has sufficient high-voltage transmission to meet all of our members’ energy needs.

And, as the price of many items is increasing, the price of electricity is remaining fairly stable. In fact, Stearns Electric has not increased electricity rates since 2018 and there will be no rate increase in 2022. Read more about our stable rates in the January 2022 CEO Column.

Despite the significant changes to the electric utility industry over the years, safely providing reliable, affordable energy is our mission. We continue to work hard every day to provide the electricity our members rely on.