The 1935 Montana legislature passed the State Electrification Authority Act, which tied Montana into contact with the state water development projects. In the same year, President Roosevelt formed the Rural Electric Administration in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Missoula Electric Cooperative, Inc., (MEC) was formed in Missoula, Montana, in 1936. It was one of several electric co-operatives formed because the Montana Power Company, the state's major provider, would not provide power in many rural areas because construction costs outweighed potential profits. Members of the co-op paid a fee, installation and consumption costs; the organization is non-profit. Electric cooperatives played an important role in rural electrification in Montana and many other states. Eugene Pike came to work for the co-op in 1937. Soon after it was formed, the MEC received a loan from the Rural Electrification Administration to build power lines from Missoula to Frenchtown, down the Bitterroot Valley, and out to Clinton, a project known as the "A" project. When World War II began, power line construction slowed considerably, and the company stopped construction in 1943. Pike returned from his shipyard job to become co-op manager in 1946.
There was no power supplier for Seeley Lake, Montana, at this time, and the co-op wished to begin line construction. They were unable to get a loan for this from the REA because the co-op purchased its power from Montana Power, and the rates they were being charged were too high. However, the REA agreed to lend the co-op the money for line construction if they bought their power from another supplier at a lower rate. Bonneville Power wished to do business in Montana, but the Montana Power Company did not welcome this competition. Senator James Murray helped pass legislation to allow Bonneville Power to come into Montana so that the co-op would be able to build its line to Seely Lake. The co-op remained hooked up to Montana Power lines, but would pay Bonneville Power for the electricity; Bonneville in turn paid Montana Power. The co-op also explored other power sources, including the fledgling nuclear power industry.
The co-op constantly clashed with the Montana Power Company over questions of competition in the state. In the late 1960s, the MEC clashed with Montana Power Company over territorial integrity, the question of whether the for-profit companies could begin to serve customers in territories formerly served only by the co-ops. The state legislature finally resolved some of these conflicts in 1970.
From the guide to the Missoula Electric Cooperative Records, 1950-1979, (Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
