HispanicBusiness

Great River Energy, which sells wholesale electricity to Lake Country Power in rural Northeastern Minnesota, is reporting positive financial results for 2012.

The company's 2012 revenues totaled more than $921 million, while its budget margins exceeded $45 million, outpacing its budgeted margin target of $40 million, according to the company's unaudited financial results.

Officials are crediting the financial gains to company efforts to contain costs and improve efficiency.

Great River Energy will put those margin gains back into the company to help pay for future capital expenditures and offset future cost increases, a news release said.

The not-for-profit company, based in Maple Grove, Minn., provides electricity to 28 energy cooperatives around the state. Of its 650,000 customers, 43,000 are Lake Country Power customers.

During 2012, Great River Energy refunded more than $5 million to its member cooperatives through a power cost adjustment, the release said.

"In 2012, our objective was the same as it has always been: operate and maintain world-class generation and transmission resources that provide value to our member cooperatives," Great River Energy President and CEO David Saggau said in a statement.

A company program that encourages employees to discover cost-

effective ways to work resulted in savings of more than $8.3 million in 2012, a time of flat energy and demand sales. Since the program began in 2002, it has resulted in total savings of $83.3 million, according to the release.

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