FERC orders new license for our hydroelectric plants

License requires minimal changes to plant operations 

In 2016 we began the multi-year process of relicensing our five hydroelectric plants along the Otter Tail River. On February 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its order for a new 40-year license.

We proposed to FERC to relicense the plants as they are today, because relicensing is more cost effective for our customers than other options—and because doing so would maintain reservoirs near where our customers and community members have built their homes. “The energy we generate at these plants is a renewable part of our resource mix and helps us provide reliable, affordable electricity for our customers,” said President Tim Rogelstad. “We appreciate all who engaged in and supported the renewal process by providing comments and recommendations to FERC.” 

For more than a century the Fergus Falls community has grown and thrived alongside the Dayton Hollow, Hoot Lake, Pisgah, Wright (Central), and Friberg (Taplin Gorge) hydroelectric plants. The plants generate approximately 1% of the electricity we use to serve our customers.