New generation milestone reached at Basin Electric’s Deer Creek Station

Deer Creek Station, Basin Electric's combined-cycle generation facility located near Brookings, South Dakota, surpassed a major generation milestone. On December 31, 2025, the facility generated 1,167,868 megawatt-hours (MWh) for the year. The previous record of 1,131,678 MWh generated was set in 2024.

Chris Karch, Basin Electric superintendent of South Dakota operations located at Deer Creek Station, said the achievement was driven by exceptional plant reliability along with efficient maintenance and operation of the facility.

"Strong coordination between the operations and maintenance teams kept the plant running efficiently, allowing any issues to be identified and corrected quickly. Proactive maintenance planning and timely execution also ensured Deer Creek Station was ready to perform when market conditions were favorable," Karch explained.

Karch attributes this milestone to the attention and care the Deer Creek Station team puts into their work every day.

"Reaching this milestone is a culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and attention to detail from everyone who has worked at Deer Creek Station over its 14 years of operation," Karch said. "It's something we can all take pride in, because when we stay focused on safety and reliability, the results speak for themselves."

Additionally, Deer Creek Station has an impressive safety record. The facility has not had a lost-time accident since it went online in 2012. That is 4,857 days as of March 18, 2026.