Officials from DS&O Rural Electric Cooperative Monday celebrated a major project hat has been years in the making. The company, which provides power for 8,300 customers in 3,000 square miles, is planning to build a new headquarters facility.

General Manager Donald Hellwig Monday afternoon briefed a group of Solomon and company officials, company employees, and the media on details of the project.

A new 42,000 square foot facility, sitting on nearly ten acres, will replace the current aging facility.

Hellwig said that a new facility has been talked about for over seven years. Serious discussions began about a year ago.

The biggest advantage of the new facility is that it will allow the company, possibly for the first time in its history, to locate everything behind one fence.

DS&Os equipment is now housed in six different buildings. Trucks are in three buildings, and some can’t even fit inside. There is also no room for inside truck service.

Officials believe that the new facility will add up to 45 minutes of productive time for crews every day because everything will be in one place, including fuel on site.

The new facility will cost about $8 million. It will be located just north of Solomon, near the Solomon High School football field. Construction is in its early stages. If things go as planned, the facilty could be completed by June of 2014.