Published
Getting power to a Henry's Fork lot: the co-op charges $250 just to tell you what it costs
The number nobody budgets for is the first one
On corridor acreage, distance to power is one of the two or three things that genuinely move the cost of a build. Buyers ask about it constantly and almost always at the wrong moment — after the offer, rather than before.
Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative serves this corridor, and its current position on estimates is unambiguous:
NEED AN ESTIMATE FOR A NEW SERVICE? — A $250 ESTIMATE FEE WILL BE CHARGED FOR ALL ESTIMATES WHETHER YOU ARE READY TO BUILD OR NOT. CONTACT MEMBER SERVICES TO GET STARTED.
— Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative, New Service Requirements (fallriverelectric.com, retrieved 2026-08-17)
Read the second half of that sentence carefully. The fee is not contingent on proceeding, and it is not waived because you are only investigating. Anyone pricing two lots against each other is looking at $250 per lot to find out what the difference actually is — which is cheap against the size of the answer, and expensive if you assumed it was free.
What the co-op's published requirements actually ask for
The cooperative publishes a service requirements booklet setting out what a new member has to do. The commercial terms in it are worth knowing before the first telephone call:
| Item | What the booklet says |
|---|---|
| Membership | The co-op is a non-profit cooperative and membership is a condition of receiving service. A membership application is required at no fee |
| Meter installation | A $50.00 charge, billed on the first bill |
| Deposit | New members pay a refundable deposit; in some instances it can be waived with an approved letter of credit from another utility |
| Agreement | The member is asked to sign a Purchase of Power Agreement |
| Easements | The member must provide easements |
| Aid to construction | Where applicable, the member pays Aid to Construction or Advance on Construction |
| Timing | Approximately two weeks after receipt of those items before construction will start |
Two documents, two dates, and they are quoted separately here on purpose. The $250 estimate fee is on the cooperative's current web page; the membership, meter and deposit terms are from its published booklet. Neither figure should be assumed to have moved the other, and both should be confirmed with Member Services before you rely on them.
Aid to construction is the line that varies by thousands
Membership is free, the meter is $50, and the estimate is $250. None of those is the number that decides a build. Aid to construction is, and it is the one the booklet will not quantify because it cannot — it depends entirely on how far your point of delivery is from existing distribution, and what is in between.
That is why the $250 exists and why it is worth paying early rather than late. It converts the largest unknown on a remote lot into a figure, before an offer rather than after.
The easement is a condition of service, not a formality
Fall River Electric will construct, own, operate, and maintain facilities only on easements or rights-of-way satisfactory to Fall River Electric. As condition of service, Fall River Electric will require the execution of an easement, or easements, providing suitable right-of-way for the construction and maintenance of the distribution lines.
— Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative, Electric Service Requirements booklet, section 1.11 Easements (retrieved 2026-08-17)
On inherited or subdivided corridor ground this is occasionally the hard part rather than the money. If the line has to cross someone else's land to reach you, an easement satisfactory to the co-op has to be obtained from a person who has no particular reason to grant it. That is a negotiation, and it has no fixed timetable.
Who supplies what
The split of responsibility is published, and it is not the split most people assume:
- The co-op provides the poles and the high-voltage facilities, and constructs, owns, operates and maintains the distribution plant — on easements satisfactory to it.
- The consumer provides the conduit from the transformer to the point of delivery, along with raceways, enclosures, meter sockets and ground rods, plus right-of-way and access.
- Construction materials are charged to the consumer on the estimate, as applicable — which is another reason the estimate is the document that matters.
- The member arranges the wiring permit and state inspection, which is a separate process from the county building permit and from the co-op.
- Loads are the member's to state. All customers must provide estimated load information and voltage; prior agreement is needed for single or three-phase loads above a threshold the booklet sets.
The trenching arrangements are their own subject and the co-op sets requirements for notice, depth, width and backfill. Confirm those directly with the Operations Department before anybody books a machine, because they are the co-op's requirements rather than the county's.
Three approvals, running in parallel, none replacing another
This is where owners lose weeks, because the three bodies involved do not talk to each other and none of them will tell you the other two are outstanding.
| Who | What they approve | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|
| Fall River Electric | Membership, the estimate, aid to construction, easements, and the line itself | Nothing about your structure — the co-op does not care whether you have a building permit |
| Fremont County | The building permit for the structure, covered on the county permit page | Nothing about the service line, the easement or the co-op's charges |
| State electrical inspection | The wiring permit and inspection of the installation | Neither the county file nor the co-op's construction schedule |
Power distance is one of the items that is genuinely priced per lot rather than per house, alongside the others set out on the lot-to-lot page. It is also the one an owner can get a number for earliest.
The order that saves the most money
- Ask for the estimate before you make an offer, not after. It costs $250 and it prices the single largest unknown on a remote lot.
- Establish the route, not just the distance. Whose ground does the line cross, and is an easement realistically obtainable from them?
- Get the aid to construction figure in writing and treat it as a real line in the build budget rather than a contingency.
- Start the paperwork early — membership, Purchase of Power Agreement, easements — because the two-week clock the booklet describes starts on receipt of those items, not on your first call.
- Sequence power against the build, because temporary construction power and permanent service are different requests, and a framing crew without power is an expensive kind of idle.
- Confirm every figure with Member Services, since a co-op's published terms change and the pages above carry two different dates.
Re-verify before relying on any figure here. The $250 estimate fee was read verbatim from the cooperative's own current web page on 2026-08-17; the membership, meter, deposit, easement and supply terms are from its published service requirements booklet, read the same day. Fall River Electric has an office in Ashton, and it is the authority on all of it.
Common questions
How much does it cost to get an estimate for new power service?
Fall River Electric's current published position is that a $250 estimate fee will be charged for all estimates, whether or not you are ready to build. It is not waived for someone who is only investigating a lot.
Is the estimate fee refundable if I go ahead?
The published sentence does not say so either way. Ask Member Services directly and get the answer before you pay it, particularly if you are pricing more than one lot.
What is aid to construction?
It is the member's contribution to the cost of building the line to serve them, payable where applicable. The booklet does not quantify it because it depends on the distance from existing distribution and what lies between.
Does it cost anything to become a member?
The booklet says a membership application is required at no fee. Separately there is a $50.00 charge for a meter installation, billed on the first bill, and new members also pay a refundable deposit.
Can the deposit be waived?
The booklet says that in some instances waiver of the deposit is possible with an approved letter of credit from another utility.
Do I need to give the co-op an easement?
Yes. The booklet states that as a condition of service the co-op requires the execution of an easement providing suitable right-of-way for construction and maintenance of the distribution lines, on terms satisfactory to it.
What if the line has to cross my neighbour's land?
Then an easement satisfactory to the co-op has to be obtained from that owner. On inherited or subdivided corridor ground this is sometimes harder than the money, and it has no fixed timetable — which is why it belongs before an offer, not after.
What does the member have to supply?
The consumer provides the conduit from the transformer to the point of delivery, plus raceways, enclosures, meter sockets and ground rods, and provides right-of-way and access. Construction materials are charged to the consumer on the estimate, as applicable.
How long does it take once the paperwork is in?
The booklet says it will take approximately two weeks after receipt of the required items before construction starts, and notes that schedules change and members can get updates from the appropriate office.
Is the wiring permit part of this?
No. Obtaining a wiring permit and state inspection is a separate process from both the co-op's requirements and the county building permit. All three run in parallel and none substitutes for another.