Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency refunds $57 million of bonds

The Western Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (Western Minnesota) has refinanced about $57 million of tax-exempt bonds originally issued in 2003.

This is a significant savings for the members of Missouri River Energy Services (MRES), including Alexandria Light and Power (ALP), according to Al Crowser, ALP general manager.

The refinancing resulted in a net present value savings in excess of $11 million or 19.6 percent of the refunded bonds. The bonds have an average maturity of 14.4 years, maturing between 2024 and 2030. The total debt service savings for the next 17 years exceeds $15 million, with annual debt service savings of $550,000 for the next 10 years and $1.4 million annually thereafter.

Western Minnesota is a municipal corporation and political subdivision of the state of Minnesota and has financed the construction and acquisition for all of the electric generating and transmission facilities used to serve the municipal members of MRES.

MRES is a nonprofit joint-action agency that provides wholesale electricity and energy services to 61 member municipalities in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

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