Key areas include safety culture initiatives, Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP), safety and loss control consultation, compliance monitoring and consulting, disaster preparation and restoration plan, and mutual aid coordination. Strong relationships with local, state, and federal agencies support the delivery of safety, affordable and reliable power to ND. Supplemental programs, projects, and committee work further develop cooperative safety coordinators and their safety programs. 

Safety culture built on trust, accountability, engagement, and recognition fosters strong safety performance. Cooperatives participating in the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP) continually evaluate their current state of safety performance, create a continuous safety improvement process and is driven by strong leadership.

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Restoring power after a disaster event is a complex task, and a timely restoration requires significant logistical expertise, along with skilled line workers, materials, and specialized equipment. While the primary goal of mutual aid is to restore electric service in a safe, effective, and efficient manner, it serves additional objectives that benefit the entire electric power industry. NDAREC’s disaster preparedness and restoration plan: 

• Promotes the safety of employees and communities,
• Strengthens relationships among electric industry partners,
• Provides a means for electric cooperatives to receive competent, trained line personnel,
• Provides a predefined mechanism to share industry resources expeditiously,
• Mitigates the risks and costs of member companies related to major incidents,
• Proactively improves resource by sharing during emergency conditions,
• Promotes and strengthens communication and,
• Enables a consistent and unified response to emergency events.

Electric Cooperatives of North Dakota respond when assistance is needed with restoration efforts through mutual aid.  Mutual aid reaches cooperatives in state, surrounding states, regionally, and nationally. Strong relationships with local, state, and federal agencies support the delivery of safety, affordable and reliable power to ND.

Contractors are essential to restoration efforts. On behalf of ND’s electric cooperatives NDAREC accepts requests for proposal (RFP) for restoration rate from contractors. This request is made annually, and the contractors accepted are place in a preferred contractor status. These contractors and their RFPs are made available to all electric cooperatives in ND. To submit your proposal complete and return the document below.

• RFP Form

NDAREC brings safety advocates from across the state together in a cooperative effort to share best practices that promotes safety and wellness in their workplace during the safety coordinators meetings. Safety coordinators are instrumental in nurturing a culture of safety by influence others regarding safety performance and accountability within their respective cooperatives. Safety coordinators identifying training needs and work practices to best exceed regulatory requirements. 

• Spring safety coordinator’s meeting to be held May 14, 2025, at the Cooperative Center, Mandan, ND
• Fall safety coordinator’s meeting to be held on October 8, 2025, at the Cooperative Center, Mandan, ND

NDAREC aids in compliance monitoring and consultation to ensures cooperatives policies and procedures reduce risks in their day-to-day operations and functions. They provide training, inspections, and risk reduction strategies. Work practices implemented ensure safety and compliance.

Dielectric testing of insulating boom aerial devices and digger derricks verify that the insulating portion of the machine is functioning as designed. Safety instructors conduct dielectric truck testing in addition to the annual truck inspection.