Bridle Bit Ranch Co. v. Basin Electric Power Cooperative

HILL, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Employing its powers of eminent domain, the Respondent, Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin), sought to condemn a right-of-way through a portion of Campbell County in order to build a 230-kilovolt (kV) power transmission line. Basin asserted that the transmission line was necessary so as to provide additional electrical power to areas of Campbell County where coal bed methane (CBM) is being developed and to otherwise enhance the availability and reliability of electrical service to that area. Basin is a regional wholesale electric generation and transmission…