Contact SECO

Main office

406-775-8762

Monday to Friday, business hours MT

Member services (Vicki Fix)

406-775-8773 [email protected]

Power outage (24/7)

406-775-8762

After hours, the line routes to the on-call lineman.

Office and mailing address

110 S Main St, Ekalaka, MT 59324

Mail to: PO Box 369, Ekalaka, MT 59324

Fax: 406-775-8763 · [email protected]

Cooperative fact sheet

Type
Member-owned distribution cooperative
Year founded
1946 (~80 years)
Headquarters
Ekalaka, MT (Carter County)
Members
923
Meters
2,310
Miles of line
1,712
States served
MT, plus parts of SD and WY
Retail choice?
No (regulated state, co-op territory)

What you can do here

  • 1

    Activate service at a new address

    Call 406-775-8762 a few business days before move-in. Bring your photo ID, the service address with directions if rural, and meter or pole number if known. New members pay a one-time membership fee plus a connection deposit.

  • 2

    Pay your bill

    SmartHub web and mobile app, mail-in check, walk-in at the Ekalaka office, or auto-pay from your bank account.

  • 3

    Report an outage

    Call the main line any time. For a wire on the ground or a fire, dial 911 first, then SECO.

Other Montana utilities

About Southeast Electric Cooperative

SECO was incorporated in 1946, part of the post-war wave of rural electric cooperatives organized under the federal Rural Electrification Act. The cooperative was created to serve ranches and small towns in southeastern Montana that the investor-owned utilities of the era refused to wire, citing low population density and high cost per mile.

Eighty years later the geography has not changed. SECO maintains 1,712 miles of line to reach 923 members and roughly 2,310 metered services. That works out to less than one and a half meters per mile of line, which is why rural co-op fixed monthly charges are higher than what you would pay in Billings or Bozeman.

SECO is a not-for-profit. Any revenue collected above operating costs is allocated back to members as capital credits, then paid out over time at the board's discretion. Members elect that board from within the cooperative; one member, one vote.

SECO service territory

SECO covers six counties at the southeastern corner of Montana, plus narrow strips of bordering South Dakota and Wyoming. If you live on a ranch or in a town inside the territory, SECO is your distribution utility, full stop.

Montana (core)

Carter County, plus pieces of Powder River, Custer, Fallon, Prairie, and Rosebud counties. Ekalaka, Alzada, Hammond, and surrounding ranchland.

South Dakota

A narrow strip of Harding County immediately east of the Montana border.

Wyoming

A small portion of Crook County in the northeast corner of the state.

Source: Southeast Electric Cooperative, About SECO.

How your SECO bill is built

A SECO bill has two main pieces. There is no third-party supplier line because Montana does not have residential retail choice and cooperatives sell their members both delivery and supply at cost.

Fixed monthly service charge

A flat fee that pays for the wires reaching your home, transformer, meter, and member services. You pay it even at zero kWh because the cost of having that line in place is real whether you use it or not.

Energy charge per kWh

The price for the actual electrons you used during the billing cycle. SECO buys wholesale power from its generation and transmission supplier and resells it to members at cost.

The 1.4-meter-per-mile reality

SECO maintains 1,712 miles of line for 2,310 meters: that is 1.35 meters per mile. By comparison, an urban investor-owned utility might serve 30 to 40 meters per mile. The fixed cost per member is structurally higher, and that is why the energy bill of a southeast Montana rancher looks nothing like the bill of an apartment dweller in Billings.

How to pay your SECO bill

SmartHub auto-pay

Free recurring bank draft. Set up once in the SmartHub portal and forget it.

SmartHub web or app

One-off bank payment (free) or card payment (small fee applies).

By mail

Check to SECO, PO Box 369, Ekalaka, MT 59324. Write your account number on the memo line.

In person

Walk-in or after-hours drop-box at the Ekalaka office, 110 S Main St.

Starting service with SECO

Cooperative service activation is different from a city utility. Have these items ready when you call 406-775-8762.

  • 1 Exact service address, including apartment, lot, or unit number. For rural properties: directions, GPS coordinates, or a fire-district address.
  • 2 Your legal name and a government photo ID for the membership application.
  • 3 The activation date you need power on. Allow 2 to 3 business days for in-town meters and longer for rural builds that may need a meter set or a service-line check.
  • 4 The membership fee and any required connection deposit. The exact amount depends on your service class; SECO staff will confirm at the time of the call.

Frequently asked questions

Is SECO a private company?
No. Southeast Electric Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative incorporated in 1946. Every customer in the service area is also an owner with one vote at the annual meeting, regardless of usage.
Can I switch to another electricity supplier?
No. Montana is a regulated state and SECO owns the only wires that reach your service address. The way to lower a SECO bill is to reduce usage, run high-load appliances at off-peak hours where applicable, and improve insulation.
Why is my fixed monthly charge so high?
Density. SECO maintains 1,712 miles of line for 2,310 meters, which is roughly 1.35 meters per mile. The same poles, wires, and transformers cost the same in southeastern Montana as they do in a city, but the cost is shared by far fewer customers. That math is the reason rural co-op service charges are higher than urban utility ones.
Who do I call for an outage?
Call 406-775-8762 any time. After business hours the line routes to the on-call lineman. For a downed wire, a fire, or anyone hurt, dial 911 first.
What are capital credits?
Because SECO is a not-for-profit, any revenue above operating costs is allocated each year to members in proportion to how much electricity they bought. The board pays those allocations out later as a bill credit or check. Even former members are entitled to past allocations if SECO has a current mailing address on file.
Does SECO deliver natural gas?
No. SECO distributes electricity only. Heating in much of southeastern Montana comes from propane delivered by tank trucks, with some electric resistance and electric heat pumps in newer construction.
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