HAZEN - Members of two electric cooperatives have given an overwhelming vote of support to consolidate into one new cooperative.

Oliver-Mercer Electric Cooperative, of Hazen, and West Plains Cooperative, of Dickinson, were solidly behind a proposal to merge into a new cooperative named Roughrider Electric Cooperative.

Voting took place by mail-in ballots and at meetings held separately in Hazen and Dickinson on Thursday.

Board members from both cooperatives talked about the idea for nearly two years before putting the consolidation question to co-op members.

The new co-op will cover Billings, Stark, part of Dunn, Oliver and Mercer counties and serve the stable electrical load in Coal Country and the more dynamic load growth of oil development. Combined, the territory has a load of about 480 megawatt hours, roughly the equivalent of power produced by one unit at Antelope Valley Station near Beulah.

Clayton Hoffman, manager at Oliver-Mercer, said he was pleased by the support from both co-op territories, since a thumbs down from either would have killed the proposal.

Hoffman will manage the new Roughrider co-op when it is formally consolidated, hopefully by January.

Hoffman said the new co-op will be more cost efficient, saving members about $5 million over 10 years by reduced administrative costs and the ability to share employees and equipment.

The new co-op will be governed by a 12-member board - six from each board now. The board eventually will be reduced to nine members, or three from three districts across the equally divided new territory.

From Oliver-Mercer, the vote was 794 in favor of the consolidation and 235 opposed.

Those numbers from the West Plains' vote were 785 in favor and 129 against.

Hoffman said about 40 percent of members from both cooperatives participated in the decision.

He said the remaining days until January will be used to finalize paperwork and meet deadlines to "put these two together."

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@;westriv.com.)