Three local high school students traveled to Washington, D.C. in June where they represented United Power on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. The Youth Tour and upcoming Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp are opportunities for high school students to build relationships with other leaders among their peers and develop important leadership skills they can model in their communities and schools. It is also a great addition to any college resume. 

Electric Cooperative Youth Tour
Washington, D.C.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has a proud history dating back to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) annual meeting in 1957. The keynote speaker, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, suggested sending youth to the nation’s capital to “see what the flag stands for and represents.”

During the summer Youth Tour, cooperatives from across the country send more than 1,300 students to Washington. The week-long “tour” includes meetings with locally elected officials in Congress and tours of historical monuments in and around the capital. Students also learn the value of the cooperatives they represent. This year, United Power sponsored three ambitious and exemplary high school students to participate on the Youth Tour — Gisell Mora, Weld Central High School, Sydney Dawson, Eagle Ridge Academy, and Johanni Delgado, The Academy of Charters. 

Before departing for Washington, students from Colorado and Wyoming toured the state capitol in Denver, participated in a high-voltage safety demonstration at United Power’s headquarters in Brighton, and heard presentations about cooperative career paths.

“This was a fantastic opportunity, and I am so grateful to United Power for providing it,” said Dawson. “Being able to see the capital and meet all my representatives in Congress was a surreal experience. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.”

At the conclusion of Youth Tour, peers elect one student to represent their state on the Youth Leadership Council. The student selected as delegate participates in the NRECA annual meeting the following March with other delegates from across the country. Last year, United Power’s Youth Tour representative Elizabeth Clement was selected as the Colorado delegate on the 2022 Youth Leadership Council. 

“I could not recommend this trip more because you get to see so many things in such a short amount of time and you learn so much,” Clement said. “I did not even realize how much I was learning until the last day. I grew as a person on this trip.” 

Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp
Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Students depart for the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in mid-July. While camp takes place in the mountains outside Steamboat Springs, it is not a camp in the traditional sense. There are cabins and catered meals instead of tents and fires. Students representing co-ops in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma spend a week managing their own cooperative, including the election of directors, to learn the value of the principles that guide co-op business practices and decisions.

Days are filled with cooperative-focused activities, leadership training seminars, and collaborative group projects. However, being a part of a cooperative is not all business. In between activities, campers enjoy some Colorado fun, like rafting down the Colorado River or exploring Fish Creek Falls in Steamboat Springs.

This year, three local students will represent United Power at the Youth Leadership Camp — Natalie & Sylvia Ingegneri, Niwot High School, and Rachael Schmidt, Frederick High School. 

Applications for youth opportunities, including scholarships and representation at next year’s Youth Tour or Youth Camp, will be available in early December. Follow us on social media for updates on all of our youth programs.
 

Denver-based firm to provide key power block for co-op’s future needs

Brighton, CO — United Power, Inc. (United Power), an electric cooperative serving Colorado’s northern Front Range, and Guzman Energy (Guzman), a wholesale power provider dedicated to developing portfolios that meet their clients’ needs for economical, reliable power, announce the signing of a 15-year contract to deliver wholesale power to the cooperative. 

The power supply agreement features fixed wholesale power pricing that provides the cooperative predictable and stable power supply costs. Under the agreement, Guzman will deliver approximately one-third of the cooperative’s power needs, beginning in May 2024.

“As we move forward with our plan to diversify our power portfolio, this contract is an important part of our strategy,” stated Mark A. Gabriel, President and CEO of United Power. “Guzman has an excellent track record of providing economical resources for cooperatives, and their commitment to integrating renewables will help us control costs while still keeping our eye on environmental impacts.”

United Power’s planned exit from its current power contract will take place May 1, 2024. The move was motivated by a desire to stabilize power costs and provide greater flexibility to the cooperative and its members.

“Wholesale power continues to be United Power’s largest expense, accounting for over 70% of our costs,” stated Gabriel. “Having more predictable power purchase costs will offer many benefits to United Power members today and into the future.”

“We are proud to contribute to United Power’s efforts to reduce power supply costs, gain greater control over generation mix, and contribute to more local, sustainable energy,” said Robin Lunt, Chief Commercial Officer at Guzman Energy. “We look forward to continued opportunities to support United Power and other cooperatives’ success.” 

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 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, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Guzman Energy

Guzman Energy is a wholesale power provider dedicated to communities in search of affordable and reliable energy. We partner with cooperatives, municipalities, companies, and tribes across North America to customize energy portfolios that make economic and environmental sense for today and tomorrow. Together, we are lighting the way forward. Visit www.guzmanenergy.com.

###

Adams County District Court grants Tri-State’s motion for continuance 

Brighton, CO – District Judge Roberto Ramírez issued an order on June 11 that continued the jury trial between United Power, Inc. (United Power) and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Tri-State) that was set to begin later this month on June 26. 

“It is disappointing for the members of United Power that the breach of contract trial between United Power and Tri-State has been delayed,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power President and CEO. Tri-State asked for a continuance after flooding the court with numerous filings in an attempt to slow the judicial process. As Judge Ramírez noted in reluctantly granting Tri-State’s request to postpone a trial date to which it had agreed to more than a year ago, “The Court agrees with United Power that the bulk of the litigated issues pending before the Court are based on filings associated with Tri-State.”

The case centers around two key issues: whether Tri-State illegally added three non-utility members in order to escape state regulation and whether Tri-State’s failure to provide United Power with a fair exit fee in a timely manner is a breach of contract that precludes Tri-State from enforcing the parties’ contract, allowing United Power the right to withdraw from Tri-State at no cost and with the potential for a substantial damages award against Tri-State.

“Sadly, Tri-State has pursued a strategy of delay in both the state courts and at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC),” continued Gabriel. “This pattern results in uncertainty for both organizations, raises the costs for United Power members, and delays the time in which our members can get lower cost, cleaner energy for homes and businesses.”

United Power is leaving its wholesale power supplier May 1, 2024 based on FERC requirements. “We are leaving Tri-State next year regardless of the Adams County proceedings,” Gabriel said, adding “this critical case does not go away even with our departure nor does Tri-State’s liability for our members’ substantial damages. Stalling is not to anyone’s benefit.”

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, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

###