AIG Commercial Asset Finance (AIGCAF) and its affiliates have provided a $100 million long-term loan to Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) headquartered in Bismarck, ND. Basin Electric is constructing two 45 megawatt gas-fired electrical generating stations in northwest North Dakota. The plants are scheduled to go on-line in mid-2013. Proceeds from the loan will be used in completion of construction and for general corporate purposes. This financing follows a $70 million loan by CAF and its affiliates to Dakota Coal Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Basin Electric.

Andrew M. Serri, CEO and general manager for Basin Electric, noted that AIGCAF’s expertise in financing long-lived assets played a key role in Basin Electric choosing AIGCAF as a financing source. “Once again, AIGCAF has stepped to the forefront and shown its commitment to Basin Electric and its overall mission of supplying low cost power to its member cooperatives. This is a business relationship the parties plan to build upon in years to come.”

Basin Electric is one of the largest electric generation and transmission cooperatives in the U.S. with over 5,000 megawatts of generation capacity serving portions of nine states. The company maintains more than 2,250 miles of high voltage transmission lines.

Kirk Phillips, senior vice president of Direct Originations at AIGCAF, noted that creating financial solutions tailored to the specific needs of AIGCAF’s customers – coupled with many years of experience in asset financing -contributed to the timely closing of this transaction: “We are pleased to have the opportunity to provide for this additional request from Basin Electric, a highly valued customer – and to do so within the customer’s timeframe. This is another example where we leveraged our broad expertise in equipment finance along with our focus on developing direct and lasting relationships with our customers to create a winning transaction for both parties.”