Bath, South Dakota, September 12, 2008 - The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which is a part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), approved the work plan amendment for Northern Electric Cooperative Inc. (Northern), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and system inventory project financing.
United Services GroupSM (USG) assisted Northern by helping them develop the exhibits for the work plan amendment required by RUS in order to receive financing. Northern received recognition for their efforts from RUS and was asked if their submission could be used as a template for other utilities.
USG was also subsequently chosen to convert their legacy AutoCAD mapping system to a new ESRI GIS system integrated with USG's ADELINE staking software. Once the source data is converted, the ADELINE staking software will be used to complete a GPS field inventory of Northern's electric facilities with a training and implementation phase to follow.
Janel Wagner, GIS specialist at Northern writes "USG's expertise in the GIS industry has been the key to our success with securing RUS funding for our mapping project. We had interviewed several companies and found the full service that USG offers is exactly what our coop needed from AutoCAD conversion to software training. We are looking forward to strengthening our relationship with USG throughout this process, and will continue to recommend their services to others."
About Northern Electric Cooperative
Northern Electric Cooperative operates and maintains electric distribution line, providing power to approximately 5,700 services in and around the following towns in north central South Dakota: Aberdeen, Bath, Claremont, Conde, Doland, Frederick, Groton, Hecla, Hitchcock, Mina, Northville, Redfield, Tulare and Zell.
About United Services Group
United Services Group is an engineering service cooperative located in Elk River, Minnesota. United Services Group has been serving the needs of the utility industry since 1988 and offers a wide variety of engineering, GIS and technical services.
United Services Group, USG, and Great River Energy are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Great River Energy in the United States, the European Union, or certain other jurisdictions.
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