Brighton, CO - On May 1, 2024, United Power officially departed from its prior wholesale power contract, allowing the cooperative to restructure the energy resources in its power mix and provide a more flexible framework for its members. TEA Solutions, a sister company of The Energy Authority, worked with the cooperative’s team to complete the transition from a single supplier to multiple wholesale energy providers.

“United Power is excited for our revolutionary new energy future,” said Mark A. Gabriel, President and CEO of United Power. “Our move away from a single, central power supplier will give us the flexibility and responsiveness that a utility needs to be competitive in the changing power market. We will be able to better meet the varied needs of our members and provide more predictable costs in the future.”

The cooperative’s partnership with TEA Solutions will provide for a variety of services on the power delivery side, including portfolio management, trading, and load forecasting. The full suite of services will ensure that the cooperative has adequate oversight of its multiple power sources and has an experienced team of specialists working to manage risk in the forecasting and trading markets.

“We’re proud to be United Power’s partner of choice as they begin their next chapter operating as an independent utility,” stated Joanie Teofilo, President and CEO of TEA Solutions. “This partnership demonstrates our commitment to assisting community-owned utilities in delivering reliable and affordable service to their residents.”

United Power’s decision to leave its former power supplier grew from a variety of changes in the electric delivery market and the fact that wholesale power represented 74% of all the cooperative’s costs prior to its departure. The previous contract also made it difficult to meet the growing demand for the integration of local generation sources, including rooftop solar. Additionally, the structure required that the cooperative cover a growing percentage of the power supplier’s costs that did not directly benefit United Power members.

“TEA Solutions offers a customized solution for electric utilities to provide the depth and experience we need to efficiently manage our power acquisition and delivery,” said Gabriel. “We are excited to work with an experienced and accomplished team of professionals who, along with cooperative staff, were able to manage our transition smoothly and without interruption.”

TEA Solutions will provide support for United Power’s unique energy needs, helping the cooperative meet its goals for delivering sustainable and economical power to its members.

“We are proud of our team’s hard work throughout this entire process and look forward to continuing our partnership with United Power,” said Teofilo. “We are dedicated to ensuring their success in this new market and future expanded markets while supporting their continued excellent service to their communities.”

United Power’s Board and staff were committed to finding a power solution that provides members with reliable power at more predictable prices into the future. Changes in the wholesale power market, increasing needs for flexibility in the delivery system, and growing ongoing operational costs from the cooperative’s former wholesale energy provider drove the need to seek out a change. United Power completed its withdrawal from its wholesale contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission on May 1, 2024, with a historic funding agreement signed in April 2024.

About United Power

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, delivering electricity to homes, farms, and businesses throughout Colorado’s northern front range. The cooperative is one of the fastest-growing electric co-ops in the nation, and in June 2021 joined the elite ranks of cooperatives serving more than 100,000 meters. The 900-square mile service territory extends from the mountains of Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyon, along the I-25 corridor and Carbon Valley region, to the farmlands of Brighton, Hudson, and Keenesburg. United Power is also a founding member of the NextGen Cooperative Alliance, which is dedicated to expanding the power supply and procurement options available to distribution co-ops and reforming the traditional generation and transmission business model. For more information about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

About TEA Solutions

TEA Solutions provides community-owned utilities with a full suite of services to manage and maximize their wholesale energy load. TEA Solutions leverages the talent, systems, and tools of The Energy Authority which provides trading and risk management services to over 70 clients – with combined generating assets of over 25,000 MW.

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There is never a good time to raise rates, but there is always a good reason. Raising rates ensures the financial stability of the utility, keeps borrowing costs low, and allows for continued investment in facilities. Sometimes there is a great reason to raise rates. For United Power, that great reason is freedom to do the right thing for our members and a restoration of local control.

More than 85 years ago, United Power’s founding board members decided electrification was in the best interest of their communities. Their goal required bold thinking and a bit of moxie. It took them two years to bring their idea of electrification to life but resulted in the lights going on for 110 homes and businesses in 1940. It introduced a vision for the future that is still being expanded today. The cooperative is now more than 100 times larger – far larger than those original founders could have ever imagined. 

Two years ago, your intrepid Board of Directors began the initial steps to take our cooperative back, advocating for a new direction untethered to an organization that was not operating in our members’ best interests. The Board’s belief is bringing a new vision of the future, and we are expanding on that every day. 

Operating as an independent entity allows United Power to manage its own destiny and focus on locally controlled generation and assets, while protecting members from costs that do not bring them value. Exiting our power contract prevents the cooperative from carrying a disproportionate burden of the supplier’s costs and investments and subsidizing others. Additionally, we want to incentivize generation and storage within our communities and increase reliability. Local generation contributes tax revenue that benefits our communities. Our new power supply will also immediately reduce our carbon intensity, helping us meet regulatory mandates. 

The cost of this freedom is $627 million, broken down into an exit fee of roughly $450 million and a 40-year prepayment of approximately $180 million for the use of transmission facilities. This prepayment is a loan from United Power that will earn interest to the tune of more than $250 million, and it is for service that we would have needed to buy anyway. Most importantly, the cooperative will be free from debts and obligations over which we have no management or control. 

The key question, of course, is what this exit will do to bills. There will be a small rate increase to pay for our freedom. Raising rates is never pleasant, and we understand this will be challenging for some. We are working on programs to minimize the impact, and we are committed to rate stabilization and potential answers for lowering them as we pay off our exit fees. 

This resolution is really the end of the beginning for United Power’s exciting and bold vision for the future. This was outlined three years ago in Our Cooperative Roadmap, which envisioned a new set of power supplies, the move into power markets, increased levels of energy storage, and continuing our industry-leading innovation. 

Innovation is not new at United Power. We were one of the first to have community solar, generate power from methane waste gas, and pioneer battery storage. Further, our rates and programs support members who add solar and storage, and electric vehicles are revolutionizing our backyard with more than 6,000 in our territory. 

United Power received a grant to combine floating solar with storage in Fort Lupton to produce low-cost power and reduce water loss through evaporation. Golden Aluminum, one of the co-op’s largest industrial members, received $22.3 million to electrify their processes. And, we have been selected to apply for New ERA grant funding. If the application is successful, those funds will help stabilize and lower the cost of lower carbon resources. 

Being an independent entity means we get to pick the right generating resources for our members, and help electrification efforts without constraints or paying for things that do not benefit the co-op. 

There is a cost to our freedom, but operating independently is priceless. Bold thinking and a bit of moxie are making this happen. I am proud of the women and men of United Power. We are, and will remain, Here for Good.