Contact FEC
Cooperative fact sheet
- Type
- Member-owned distribution cooperative
- Headquarters
- Lewistown, MT (Fergus County)
- Members served
- ~3,900
- Meters
- ~6,500
- Miles of line
- 3,950+
- Counties served
- 14 in central Montana
- Retail choice?
- No (regulated state, co-op territory)
- Network
- Touchstone Energy Cooperatives
What you can do here
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1
Start service at a new address
Call Lewistown at least 2 business days before move-in. Bring photo ID, the service address, and your meter location if known. A membership fee and connection deposit may apply.
-
2
Pay your bill in person
Drop-box and walk-in payments accepted at the Roundup office during business hours. SmartHub handles online and app payments.
-
3
Report an outage or downed line
Call 406-538-3465 any time. For a wire on the ground, dial 911 first, then FEC.
About Fergus Electric Cooperative
Fergus Electric Cooperative is one of 25 distribution cooperatives that bring power to rural Montana. As a not-for-profit, member-owned utility, every customer is also a co-owner: rates are set by a board elected from the membership, and any margin above operating costs is returned to members as capital credits over time, not paid out as shareholder dividends.
FEC operates more than 3,950 miles of distribution line across a vast, sparsely populated service area. The math behind rural co-op rates is unavoidable: where a city utility might serve 35 customers per mile of line, a Montana co-op like FEC averages roughly one to two members per mile. The cost of maintaining that line is shared by fewer people, which is the structural reason cooperative residential rates run higher than those of nearby investor-owned utilities like NorthWestern Energy.
The Roundup office at 102 Railroad Ave E is a satellite location that handles in-person member services. All emergency dispatch, billing, and after-hours outage calls are routed through Lewistown.
FEC service territory in central Montana
FEC owns the wires that carry power to homes, farms, ranches, and small businesses in 14 counties. If you live in one of these areas, FEC is your distribution utility regardless of who generates the electricity.
Counties served
Source: Fergus Electric Cooperative, About FEC page (ferguselectric.coop).
How your FEC bill is built
Montana is a regulated state for residential customers, and rural electric co-ops are not part of the retail-choice conversation. You buy your power from FEC because FEC owns the wires that reach your home.
Fixed monthly facility charge
A flat fee, paid even if you use zero kWh, that covers the cost of the line to your property, the transformer, and the meter. Co-op facility charges are higher than urban utilities because the wire-per-member math is harsher.
Energy charge per kWh
The price for the actual electrons you use. FEC purchases wholesale power and resells it to members at cost-of-service rates set by the elected board.
The 49% truth
On a deregulated-state IOU bill, roughly half of what you pay is shoppable supply. On an FEC bill, none of it is shoppable: 100% of the bill goes to the cooperative, because residential customers in Montana cannot pick a third-party supplier. The lever you can actually pull is consumption: insulation, weather-sealing, electric water heater scheduling, and switching to heat pumps when oil or propane heat is the alternative.
Source: EIA Montana state profile; FEC rates page.
How to pay your Fergus Electric bill
SmartHub auto-pay
Free recurring draft from bank, credit, or debit card via the SmartHub portal.
Online or mobile app
Pay one-off via SmartHub website or app. Card fees may apply.
By mail
Check to FEC, 84423 US Hwy 87, Lewistown, MT 59457. Write your account number on the check.
In person
Walk-in or drop-box at the Roundup office (102 Railroad Ave E) or Lewistown HQ.
If you cannot pay your bill
Co-ops generally work with members on payment plans before disconnection. Two federally funded programs help low-income Montana households cover winter energy bills.
LIHEAP
The federal LIHEAP program is administered in Montana by the Department of Public Health and Human Services. It can cover part of your winter heating bill and reconnection fees.
Source: acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/liheap
Weatherization
The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) pays for insulation, air sealing, and efficient appliances. In rural co-op territory the payback is often faster because per-kWh charges are high.
Source: energy.gov
Frequently asked questions
Is Fergus Electric Cooperative a private company?
Can I switch to another electricity supplier?
Why are co-op rates higher than NorthWestern Energy's?
Who do I call for a power outage at night?
What are capital credits and when do I get mine?
Does FEC sell natural gas?
More U.S. states with energy choice
Same playbook, different utility. Pick another deregulated state to compare utilities, suppliers and switching rules.
