Members of New Prague city staff, the city council and Greystone Construction held a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday afternoon, March 12, for the city’s newest energy generation facility. Gathering at 507 Sixth Ave. NW, the group broke ground in a brief ceremony.
The new facility will be a 60-foot wide by 85-foot long building. According to information presented to the city council in 2025, New Prague Utilities Commission along with its wholesale power provider, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Association (SMMPA), are working together to build the additional generation facility adjacent to a current substation located near the city’s industrial park.
Currently, New Prague has 17.5 megawatts of local generation and a peak system load of around 18 MW said City Utilities General Manager Bruce Reimers. The planned addition of the 11.3 MW West Energy Station, with an estimated cost of $18 million to $20 million, will serve the needs of New Prague for the foreseeable future and be funded through the 20-year capacity contract that is being offered by SMMPA, Reimers said, adding the cost of the project will not affect local customer rates.
The new energy facility is part of New Prague Utilities’ steps to expand its local generation fleet, continuing a long tradition of providing reliable, locally produced backup power for the community, Reimers said. The local utility has a long history of local generation that dates back to the late 1800s when New Prague's municipal electric utility was first established, said Reimers. Despite that long history, the community has...
To see more on this story pick up the March 19, 2026 print edition of The New Prague Times.