Powder River Energy is owned by YOU. As members and owners, you elect a board of ten Directors which are responsible for making the big decisions, including the hiring and appointment of Powder River Energy’s senior manager.

PRECorp’s day to day operations are overseen by your Chief Executive Officer Brian Mills. 

CEO Brian Mills

Brian is a Crook County, Wyoming, native. Raised on a farm/ranch operation near Devils Tower, he has first-hand experience of PRECorp’s cooperative spirit.

After graduating from Dickinson State University with a B.S. in Education with minors in Computer Science and Business Administration, he spent a few years teaching and coaching in the Rapid City Area School District. Brian returned to Crook County when he came to work for PRECorp in the IT Department. Four years later he moved over to the HR department as the Manager of Training and Development during which time Brian earned an MBA. In 2010, Brian accepted the VP of HR position which was eventually restructured to be titled the Human Resources Officer in 2012. Brian managed all internal employee programs, staffing, employee and retiree benefits, personnel records, training and development.

In 2022, Brian was promoted to Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Mike Easley who served 22 years in that role.

TROY BIFULCO

VP of Information Technology and Services

Troy Bifulco joined the PRECorp team in 2002. In his 20-plus-year career, Troy has been responsible for many different roles in the Information Technology Department. In his current role as Vice President of Information Technology and Services, Troy and his team are responsible for the Information Technology Strategy, Budget, and Management of Cooperative Information Technology Systems; including Data Centers, System Hardware and Software, Mobile Radio system, Communications Networks, and Cyber Security.

Troy was raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a minor in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota. Troy’s passions include serving the community and helping people learn new technologies.

BILL MERTZ

Chief Financial and Administration Officer

Bill Mertz joined the PRECorp team in 2021.  Bill has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona; with unofficial minors in Organizational Behavior and Management & Policy, along with a Masters Certification in Lean Six Sigma from Villanova University, and a Strategic Financial Planning certification from the University of Wisconsin.

Bill has vast experience in the cooperative industry, as well as strategic planning and leadership work in the private sector. He comes to PRECorp from San Miguel Power Association in Colorado where he was CFO.

Bill is also General Manager of Members 1st Power Cooperative, a Generation & Transmission cooperative comprised of PRECorp, Tongue River Electric Cooperative (Mont.), and Fergus Electric Cooperative (Mont.) that purchases its wholesale power from Basin Electric Cooperative.

JANET VAN DER STAR

VP of Human Resources

Janet brings 12 years of experience working with two Rural Electric Cooperative in Indiana. During her years at these cooperatives Janet was a shared-service employee and had the opportunity to work with departmental teams throughout both organizations. Janet established the Human Resources teams within both cooperatives.

Janet’s work history also includes 20 years of tenure in international higher education in the Netherlands, as a senior lecturer, program administrator, university confidential advisor, and online program manager.

Janet has a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Liverpool in England, supported by a PGA in Organizational and Business Psychology, and a teaching in Higher Education certificate from Rijks University in the Netherlands.

JOE ROTH

VP of Member Service

Joe, a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a degree in Mechanical Engineering began his career as an intern with Baccari and Associates in 1993. He has had the opportunity to work with Boeing, Aspen Power System Corporation, and Outokumpu Technology Inc. before returning to Baccari and Associates in 2003. It was during this time that Joe had the opportunity to work with the PRECorp team in a contracting capacity assisting with various Engineering projects. Joe then began his official career with Powder River Energy Corporation in June of 2013 as the Manager of Transmission and Substation Engineering and later Senior Manager of Transmission and Distribution Engineering. In 2023, Joe was selected as Vice President of Member Service. He has a proven ability in working with our largest members and governing agencies in growing PRECorp’s rapport. 

RICH HALLORAN

VP of System Operations

Rich Halloran was named VP of System Operations in 2018. Rich joined the PRECorp team in 2008 and has served in several different capacities in the company from Control System Engineer to, most recently, Manager of Service Operations. Rich grew up in Millington, Michigan. Rich started his career in the US Navy onboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, as an electrician in reactor department. He obtained a Bachelors Degree in Engineering from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 2003. During his Career at PRECorp, he was a member of the Smart Grid team and worked heavily on the design and installation of the SCADA system enabling system operations to restore power remotely dramatically decreasing outage times and making maintenance activities more efficient. He is currently serving as lead in the Automated Metering Infrastructure project which will, among other things will provide more detailed usage data to the membership and provide detailed load data to engineering enabling them to make more cost effective decisions on infrastructure installations. Rich lives in Gillette and has two great children, a son attending college and a daughter attending school in Gillette.

QUENTIN ROGERS

VP of Engineering and Technical Services

Quentin is a fifth generation Campbell County resident who grew up amidst the agriculture, oil, and coal industries served by Powder River Energy Corporation.

He obtained his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Wyoming in Electrical Engineering with a Computer Science minor prior to working as a Reliability Test Engineer and Metrology Laboratory Manager for an electronics manufacturer in eastern Nebraska.  After eight years, Quentin returned home in 2007 to northeast Wyoming to work for Powder River Energy Corporation as a Distribution Engineer and has since managed the Distribution Engineering team, System Planning team, and now leads the Engineering Department that is responsible for distribution line design, right of way, environmental permitting, transmission and substation design, system studies, long term planning, and various other engineering related tasks and studies.  He is a graduate of the 2009 Robert I. Kabbot Management Internship Program (MIP) and has undertaken numerous other leadership studies and technical programs throughout his career.  

Along with spending time with his wife and children, Quentin assists local sports clubs with web design skills; serves on community boards; dabbles in photography; and has written and published the novel “The Hike: Survivors”.