BISMARCK - Basin Electric Power Cooperative named Paul Sukut as its new chief executive officer on Tuesday, at the same time announcing that former CEO and general manager Andy Serri had resigned.
A news release from the company did not specify Serri's reasons for resigning.
"Senior management changes happen daily throughout the business world and it is one of the responsibilities of a board to ensure that a strong succession plan is in place," Wayne Peltier, president of the Bismarck-based cooperative's board of directors, said in the release.
Sukut, an Ellendale native, has worked for Basin Electric since 1983 and was recently promoted to executive vice president.
Peltier called Sukut "an experienced, capable public utility executive who will step into his new role without missing a beat."
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Peltier also thanked Serri for his service and contribution to the co-op.
"This is a time of change for us and for our industry," he said in a note to employees announcing the leadership change, according to the news release. "Many of our longest-serving employees have reached retirement age - more than 200 in the last two years alone - and we face emerging challenges to manage the strong economic growth in our service area, to continue our tradition of environmental responsibility and to integrate new technologies into our operations.
"At the same time, however, these changes offer unprecedented opportunities for the co-op, for our members and for the more than 2.8 million consumers and customers who depend on us. Because of the dedication and the hard, smart work of more than 2,000 Basin employees, I am more excited than ever about our future and more confident than ever in our ability to seize that future."
Basin Electric is one of the nation's largest electric cooperatives, operating across 540,000 square miles in nine states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana. Its portfolio includes coal, gas, oil, nuclear and wind power.
