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As we begin 2026, the improvements we’ve experienced in the product supply chain over the past year puts RESCO on very positive and firm footing to continue to deliver exceptional service and reliable inventory to our members and other customers, ensuring the success of their operations.

The return to pre-COVID conditions in the material supply chain has had a positive influence on the factors that impact our operations and those of our manufacturer partners, including inflation rates, lead times, and product availability.

YEARLY INFLATIONARY RATES NOW AT PRE-COVID LEVELS

The effect of the Covid supply chain disruption during the early part of this decade can’t be overstated within the electric utility industry: between 2021 and 2024, the cost of all of the distribution and transmission utility products RESCO supplies to members and other customers increased by over 50%.

Fortunately, the annual yearly inflation rate has dropped dramatically over the past two years to a rate more in-line with pre-COVID levels, and we anticipate annual increases between 2% and 4% moving forward. However, the large inflationary cost increases that impacted electric utility products from 2021-2024 will likely remain and, unfortunately, continue to place a significant burden on work-plan budgets for years to come.

LEAD TIMES IMPROVE

We are seeing shortened lead times for the majority of products that we sell. A few categories, however, continue to experience challenging and longer lead times. These include:

(And as a service to our readership, we provide updated lead times for 17 product categories each month in our monthly newsletter.)

INVENTORY AT RECORD LEVELS AND GROWING

To counter extended lead times on the products mentioned above, members of our RESCO team continue to work with our members and customers like yours to plan out your material needs for the coming year. By doing so, we’re able to place more timely orders with our manufacturer partners, which, in turn, helps ensure that the products are delivered and ready when our members and customers need them.

Additionally, product inventory at our 10 regional warehouses is at record levels and continues to grow, enabling us to adequately weather any unforeseen disruptions in the supply chain that could impact lead times and product availability.

(As mentioned in the July 2025 edition of our Plugged-In With RESCO newsletter, our next phase of expansion will be just north of our current facility in Moorhead, MN, with the building of new offices and a warehouse on 15 acres of land. Once completed, the site will provide us with substantial indoor and outdoor storage space, as well as more office space to accommodate our growing team.)

RESCO’s approach in carrying very large amounts of electric distribution and transmission inventory proved invaluable during the COVID pandemic, and we continue to utilize this strategy in our current operations to ensure sufficient stock in the event of future challenges.

RESCO is pleased to announce that four industry professionals have been elected to its Board of Directors. These include two individuals from the state of Missouri, reflecting our growing commitment to servicing utilities in the state.

The new Board additions are:

The four individuals were welcomed to the RESCO Board of Directors during the RESCO Annual Business Meeting—held Sept. 24 in Madison, WI—and will be seated as directors at the November Board meeting. We thank them for their commitment to serve on the Board and their support of our cooperative.

Four current Board members were also re-elected. Continuing their service on the RESCO Board of Directors are:

Stepping down from their Board positions were Kim Rasmussen, director, Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative; and Bruce Tegtmeier, director, Norris Public Power District. The RESCO community recognized both individuals during the meeting.

                      Kevin Dechant

 

                              Leroy Mostek

 

                    Frank Schieber

 

               Deon Vilhauer

Maintaining and continually growing our product inventory remains a key focus area of RESCO’s operational model, as it ensures that our members and customers have quick access to the wide variety of materials, equipment, and supplies that we distribute.

Properly housing this inventory requires re-investment in our cooperative, primarily in the forms of newly-constructed warehouses and additions to existing warehouses. Over the past several years, we’ve built new warehouses in Elkhart, IA and Stanley, WI, as well as begun operations in Roundup, MT. We’ve also added square-footage to our warehouses in Mt. Pleasant, MI, and moved into a larger warehouse space in Kearney, NE.

Our next phase of expansion will occur just outside of Moorhead, as the RESCO Board of Directors last month approved the construction of a new warehouse and offices on 15 acres of land north of our current facility. Once completed, the site will provide us with substantial indoor and outdoor storage space, as well as more office space to accommodate our growing team.

Construction is slated to begin in early 2026, with operations beginning in early 2027. More details on the project and construction updates will be shared in future editions of the Plugged-in With RESCO newsletter and on our social media pages.

While destructive weather can impact our region at any time during the year, the spring and summer months are historically viewed as the primary storm seasons here in the Midwest and Northern Great Plains.

Tornadoes, lightning, micro-bursts, heat waves, and other weather occurrences can instantly turn normal operations into an emergency response situation at your utility. And when the power goes out at your members’ and customers’ homes, farms, and businesses, having an adequate inventory of equipment, materials, and supplies is essential to get back up-and-running.

Here are three tips from RESCO to help your utility best prepare for damage caused by inclement weather:

While the calendar says that it’s now spring, that doesn’t mean that snow, ice, high winds, and blizzard conditions brought on by late season storms are over. In fact, RESCO assisted member and customer utilities throughout our service region in March that were impacted by severe weather fronts.

In mid-March, we supplied materials and product to utilities in Iowa and Nebraska, following a blizzard that dumped snow and ice and brought high winds and whiteout conditions to the region.

Later that month, our warehouse crews in Michigan and Wisconsin responded to a historic ice storm that hit northern Michigan, resulting in widespread power outages and a declaration of a state of emergency.

As your trusted operational partner, RESCO is always ready to assist your utility when storms and other weather-related occurrence strike. Our Storm Response service is on call 24 hours a day to deliver the materials your linemen and technicians need to restore power and to make necessary repairs.

Additionally, we recommend to all of our members and customers—whether impacted by these recent storms or not—to conduct a review of your current product and supply levels and work with your RESCO account managers and customer service representatives to ensure you have adequate materials in the event that a weather occurrence impacts your service area.

While no one can predict precisely when and where a storm will hit and the impact it will have, continual preparation can help you and your team better respond when it does. Let our team of professionals review your current inventory supplies to ensure you’re properly equipped to address storm damage and repairs year-round.

In response to the blizzard that impacted parts of the Midwest and Northern Plains last week, RESCO warehouse crews worked diligently to ensure quick delivery of needed supplies and materials to our members and customers impacted by the storm, which dumped snow and brought high winds and whiteout conditions to the region.

Shipments from our Kearney, NE warehouse included wire to Butler Public Power District; cable to the City of Wahoo, NE (to repair downed power lines); and ERMCO transformers to Norris Public Power District.

The team at RESCO is looking forward to meeting with industry friends and colleagues in Atlanta next month, site of this year’s National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) 2025 TechAdvantage Experience.

Held March 9-12 at the Georgia World Congress Center, TechAdvantage is the premier conference and expo for electric cooperative engineering, operations, information technology, purchasing, and supply management professionals.

Conference sessions and activities will help eventgoers identify best practices and products that help resolve engineering, IT, energy services, operations, supply chain management, and business challenges by unlocking the power of innovation and collaboration.

If you’re attending, be sure to stop by our booth to say ‘hi’ (Booth 2001), as well as visit the booths of our manufacturer partners, including:

As our operations in Nebraska expand, so too does our need for additional storage capacity to house our growing inventory.

With that in mind, we’re happy to announce that we’re now operating at a new warehouse location in Kearney, NE at the following address:

714 4th Ave., Ste. B
Kearney, NE 68845

The new facility is located directly behind our former warehouse site (404 West 8th Street, Ste. 2, Kearney, NE 68845).

The RESCO team began moving inventory from its former location earlier this month and started receiving shipments at the new location shortly thereafter.

The RESCO model helps ensure that our members and customers have access to the materials, supplies, products, and equipment their utilities need, when they need them.

RESCO President and CEO Matt Brandrup discussed our cooperative’s pro-active approach to challenging supply chain issues over the past few years, how our partnership with ERMCO Transformer continues to benefit our members, and other timely topics in  a recent National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Q&A article.

To read the piece, click here.

The devastation inflicted on the Southeastern United States by Hurricane Helene continues to impact those who reside in the region.

To assist in the ongoing relief efforts, RESCO, its Wisconsin electric cooperative members, and the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association coordinated a shipment of humanitarian items yesterday to two locations in Aiken and Edgefield counties, South Carolina.

Included in the shipment were portable generators, adult diapers, bottled water, and other essential supplies. These items helped support the work of the United Way of Aiken County and the United Way of Edgefield, who are assisting individuals and families recovering from this disaster.

The shipment was sent from RESCO’s Middleton, WI warehouse.