National Preparedness Month is a good time to make plans for emergencies of all kinds. Members who rely on medical equipment that requires electricity to operate should have a plan prepared for large disasters and shorter power interruptions. Your plan should include how to provide backup power should you lose electric service for a few hours, and an evacuation plan if you sustain a prolonged power outage or receive a mandatory evacuation order. 

Plan accordingly if you or a loved one cannot be without power. If possible, a backup battery, generator, or alternate electrical resource is ideal. Or you may want to explore newer solutions and consider manual hand cranks, foot pumps, or other simple tools that might suffice when nothing else works. Be sure your backup devices are fully charged, ready to go, and that your caregivers know how to operate them.

Colorado’s Medicaid Battery Backup Program

Recognizing the importance of preparedness for individuals on life-sustaining medical equipment, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing has a program to distribute battery-based, power backup systems to eligible Coloradans. If you are a qualified Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) participant, you may qualify for assistance. 

For more information, including a checklist to use while developing your backup plan and a link to the Medicaid Battery Backup Program, visit the Medical Devices page.

Xcel Energy to provide United Power and its members with excess low-carbon, renewable electricity

Brighton, CO – United Power an electric cooperative serving Colorado’s northern Front Range, and Xcel Energy, one of the nation’s largest investor-owned utilities, entered into a strategic relationship to explore opportunities for maximizing the value of their combined portfolios and advancing the State of Colorado’s progress toward a low-carbon energy footprint. The utilities are entering a power supply arrangement that would provide United Power access to Xcel Energy’s increasingly carbon neutral portfolio to the benefit of Xcel Energy customers and United Power members. The working agreement will allow both utilities to leverage cost savings through power purchases while continuing to invest in new, clean renewable resources.

“This is a win-win for both utilities,” stated Mark A. Gabriel, President and CEO of United Power. “The ability of two large utilities working toward a common goal will benefit everyone. Together we will plan our energy needs, negotiate lower pricing, and assure reliability for our members and customers. This is an important step as we enter the new future of electric procurement and delivery.”

The agreement aims to facilitate a shared strategic vision for electric power delivery. Xcel Energy seeks to leverage its renewable energy resources by making sales to United Power at times when excess energy is available, providing United Power with access to Xcel Energy’s significant portfolio at attractive prices. The two utilities hope to develop a long-term relationship in which both will work in tandem to drive down power costs, understand how best to serve the future load of the cooperative’s members and Xcel Energy’s customers, and work toward the mutual goal of integrating more renewable energy in support of the State of Colorado’s renewable resource goals.

“The electric industry is changing, and United Power is working with Xcel Energy to help lead this revolution,” stated Gabriel. “Meeting federal and state requirements, keeping costs economical, and making certain our load is predicable are planned outcomes of this strategic relationship.”

United Power is preparing for an exit from its current wholesale power contract with another power supplier on May 1, 2024. The electric cooperative has been securing a variety of power generation contracts to continue to supply its members following its exit from the contract.

“Today’s announcement solidifies our close working relationship with United Power, one of the largest and fastest-growing cooperative utilities in Colorado, by supplying increasingly carbon-free energy from Xcel Energy’s generation resources,” said Robert Kenney, President of Xcel Energy-Colorado. “Our strategic relationship will maximize the value of both companies’ combined generation towards achieving our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, from 2005 levels, and providing 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050.” 

United Power serves nearly 110,000 meters and maintains and operates over 6,500 miles of distribution line. The 900-square mile service territory wraps around the north and west borders of the Denver International Airport. It includes the north and northeast metropolitan development corridors along Interstate 25, Interstate 76, State Highway 85, and E-470 and the Golden Gate and Coal Creek canyons, two of Colorado’s most iconic and historic mountain canyons. As a result of its geographic location, United Power’s system is experiencing significant demand and energy growth, averaging approximately 6% annually.

To learn more about United Power’s power supply transition, visit Power Supply.

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 Co-op 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 (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.    

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It is hard to believe we are already entering the fall season. Summer flew by while your cooperative employees were hard at work on a number of fronts — improving service, working toward an energy future outlined in Our Cooperative Roadmap, and managing the tremendous growth in our communities.

We spent much of the summer finalizing our power supply portfolio — one that will provide members with a mix of traditional and low-carbon power and storage solutions. The break from our current power supplier will allow significant freedom and flexibility, representing the rapidly changing energy industry, in a reasonable time frame, as opposed to waiting until the end of the decade.  

We are blessed to have a strong mix of residential, commercial, and industrial members in our small 900-square mile service territory, as well as consistent and significant growth. Our system’s diversity means we are a highly desirable partner for companies wishing to locate here and work with United Power to deploy new and innovative technologies.

The future is not just about adding more generation — although necessary to meet growing demand — but also operating our system differently (and more efficiently) than the past. For example, five years after launching what was Colorado’s largest battery storage facility at the time, we have entered an agreement to deploy nearly 80 additional megawatts of battery storage across our footprint, one of the nation’s first dispersed storage projects. This will allow us to charge the batteries when energy costs are low and reduce the demand on our system during peak hours. 

The rise in electric vehicle sales has led to a curious conversation that today’s grid cannot handle the load without massive investments in infrastructure or significant control options. We have among the highest penetrations of EVs and plug-in hybrids in the nation. Here at United Power, we constantly monitor our transformers and energy consumption, proactively managing and improving our system in advance of challenges. Each year, we strategically plan our maintenance to target the worst performing feeders — those lines supporting our members in their neighborhoods — and carefully focus our investments. Your Board of Directors not only supports these activities but works closely with management to ensure we are making the right investments to keep this most critical infrastructure strong. 

This is not to say there will never be outages. Sadly, critters, crashes, storms, and lightning wreak havoc on electric grids, no matter how well built. United Power crews work diligently through some of the most terrible conditions to restore power quickly — and safely. The addition of our Carbon Valley Service Center in 2019 has also allowed us to cut down outage response times in our western territory.

We continue to lead the nation in residential solar installations and support members who want to add solar, as well as storage. Last year, the Colorado Solar and Storage Association recognized United Power as a Solar & Storage Champion for its member interconnection process and rooftop solar saturation. 

We do caution members to be selective in choosing their solar contractor. Several door-to-door salespeople have been reported using unscrupulous tactics, including lies and fabrications, to sell their services. Be leery of any representative mentioning United Power. Our team is available to provide unbiased information and all the tools you need to make the right decision when it comes to solar. Simply call us at 303-637-1300 or visit Going Solar.

As a United Power member-owner, you have a special relationship with the cooperative. Please feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments. I appreciate the honor to serve you.

Enjoy our beautiful fall weather.