Hoosier Energy begins construction on new operation facility

Hoosier Energy celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for its new $25 million power delivery and operations facility in Owen County.

The event was at the site of the future facility, a 90-acre property located in Spencer, Ind., south of the intersection with State Highway 46, according to a press release.

It was an invitation-only ceremony attended by Hoosier Energy officials and board members, Hoosier Energy spokesman Chris Tryba said. Remarks were given by Hoosier Energy CEO Steve Smith, Chairman Jim Weimer and Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-8th District, Tryba said.

The building will provide the company with office, warehouse and equipment space, and it will be a base for more than 60 employees, Tryba said.

The Owen County property was selected for easy transportation access, proximity to transmission and substation assets and space for growth, according to the press release.

The construction is expected to be complete by the end of the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the press release.

“The new facility will allow us to create a more integrated and efficient operations facility for transmission and substation crews, as well as engineering and other departments,” Tryba said.

Hoosier Energy, headquartered in Bloomington, is a generation and transmission cooperative providing electricity and other services to 18 electric distribution cooperatives, according to the release. The services reach more than 750,000 residents, businesses, industries and farms.

Two of these cooperatives, Martinsville-based South Central Indiana REMC and Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC based in Bloomfield, Ind., provide services to Monroe County, Tryba said.

“What it really does is enable us to provide better services throughout south Indiana and southeast Illinois,” Tryba said.

— Samantha Schmidt