Co-op Emloyees Raised More Than $5,000 to Support Veterans Through Allegiance Ranch

Cooperatives are driven by a spirit of service and the desire to give back to the communities that built and shaped us, the same motivating factors that inspire our military heroes. United Power is proud to celebrate veterans working in our offices, living in our communities, and throughout the country. Veterans Day allows us to take a moment to appreciate and thank our military veterans. The cooperative is honored to serve those who have bravely served our country. 

Many United Power employees have felt the impact of a family member who answered the call to serve and protect our country. Some fought in the most important conflicts in world history. Some employees have known this call firsthand from serving in one of our military branches themselves. The cooperative wants to recognize these employees not only for their service to the country, but also their commitment to the cooperative values and principles that drive us to serve members better every day. 

“Please join me in extending a special thank you to all United Power employees who are veterans and all our members who served our country both in peace and conflict,” said United Power President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Gabriel. “Thank you for your patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.”

As part of the United Power’s recognition of Veterans Day in November, co-op employees led an effort to raise funds for Allegiance Ranch and Equine Rescue in Erie. Allegiance Ranch is a nonprofit that provides a safe and welcoming place for veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and their families. It provides services free of charge thanks to the support of community members and donors.  

Employees raised more than $5,000 for Allegiance Ranch in less than 48 hours through an online auction featuring themed baskets donated by each United Power department. Many departments and several United Power employees also donated additional items for the auction. Allegiance Ranch will use the funds to complete projects that allow them to better serve veterans. The check presentation is scheduled later this year. To learn more about Allegiance Ranch, click here.

Thank you again to all our military veterans. You inspire us each day to do our best to serve our members and our communities with pride and commitment. Thank you for your service. 

United Power Supports Community Events, Empowers Local Education, & Drives Economic Development 

United Power members expect their electric utility to provide consistently reliable power when they need it, for as long as they need it; but as a cooperative, United Power is more than your average utility company. Electric distribution cooperatives exist to serve their members and are only as strong as the communities they serve, which is why we have pledged a commitment to actively engage with our members and promote the growth and development of our communities. 

Our public presence in the community is evident at fairs and festivals throughout the service area. United Power is a proud partner and supporter of community events that offer family fun and celebrate each city or town’s unique and rich history. As the presenting sponsor of the Adams County Fair in August, the cooperative helped bring one of the largest county fairs in the country to thousands of local residents and visitors. The cooperative also sponsors community heritage celebrations like Trapper Days in Fort Lupton and Miners Day in Frederick. 

While summer events bring out large crowds, United Power is also active during the holiday season. You’ll find our community affairs reps passing out candy at local trunk or treat events or see our trucks rolling in festive parades adorned in lights and decorations. We also sponsor Thanksgiving food drives like Food for Hope’s annual Feed 5000 campaign.  The cooperative’s sponsorship of the Coal Creek Canyon Improvement Association (CCCIA) allows it to plan several holiday events for its residents, such as family favorites like the Easter Eggstravaganza and Fourth of July Festival. 

“If it weren’t for the considerable support the CCCIA receives from United Power, we wouldn’t be able to put on these events for our residents,” said CCCIA Hall Manager Suzy Schemel. “We are able to bring family-friendly events to the families who live up here free of charge thanks to their generous contribution and continued support for Coal Creek. I imagine the sentiment is shared by many of the other communities United Power serves.”

The growth and development of local communities hinges on the abilities of their leaders – both current and future. United Power recognizes future mayors, city councilors, and other community leaders among the students in our high schools. Each year, we select local high school students to represent the cooperative on trips to Steamboat Springs and Washington, D.C. for youth leadership training and education on the cooperative principles. We also award nearly two dozen scholarships to graduating seniors pursuing a post-secondary education or vocational degree. (More information on United Power scholarships and youth trips can be found here.)

As much as our community leaders spur growth, it also requires creating an environment that supports healthy and thriving businesses. United Power has a seat at the table of local chambers of commerce because of their work behind the scenes helping communities drive economic development. Economic development directors from our communities can contact our readily available and easily accessible community affairs reps with inquiries about new business development and business retention strategies. The cooperative’s close relationship with each community alleviates concerns for potential business owners as they determine future business locations. 

“United Power operates with a level of certainty about its infrastructure’s ability to handle new or expanding load,” said Max Daffron, economic development manager for the Town of Frederick. “That certainty is important for business owners.” 

United Power reps can help communities and businesses determine where sufficient infrastructure is available, how additional capacity can be built, or if redundant power is necessary. They can even recommend ideal business locations based on their energy needs and prospective development in the area. United Power has also partnered with communities to help develop comprehensive strategies and plan for future growth. 

“As a small business owner, I see real value in United Power’s commitment to community support and development,” said Cody LeBlanc, owner of Cinn-A-Brew in Brighton and The KM Cup in Fort Lupton. “Their support showcases our businesses and demonstrates the area is a great place live.”

United Power’s commitment extends to all areas that support community health and well-being, including its state parks and nonprofits that serve the local community. The cooperative assisted Barr Lake State Park in placing its popular osprey platform in 2014; and earlier this year, helped raise its eagles nest on the southern end of the park. When the cooperative hit 100,000 meters in 2021, United Power made contributions to each state park in its service territory – Barr Lake, St. Vrain, and Golden Gate – in recognition of their importance to the community.

Now more than 100,000 meters strong, United Power impacts more people than ever before. We recognize how beneficial the support we provide for our communities has been and how crucial it is for continued growth and development. As a cooperative, we strive to see each of our communities, and the members who call them home, reach their full potential. As we grow and evolve into the electric utility of the future, our members will continue to remain our focus. 

It has been an eventful and exciting late summer and early fall. United Power was able to mitigate the financial impact of record peaks with the help of demand response and load control tools, such as our Smart Rewards thermostat program and our managed electric vehicle charging program, United EV.

At a time of the year when weather can create challenging situations for electric grids, our system held up well. The investments we made in our distribution network on our members’ behalf, combined with our active wildfire mitigation programs, resulted in few operating issues. We run one of the best networks in Colorado – and probably the country – thanks to the great staff and alignment with Our Cooperative Roadmap (Roadmap), which emphasizes a continual optimization of our distribution system.

Another key pillar in our Roadmap is providing flexible, affordable, and sustainable power. United Power is one step closer to obtaining lower cost, cleaner power for our members thanks to a recent ruling from an administrative law judge at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding the cooperative’s exit fee from our current wholesale power supply contract. While this is just part of the process, it is a major step in the right direction.

Our decision to depart from our current supplier is based in economics. United Power members pay over market price for their power and transmission while living with a choke collar that caps our ability to generate local power at 5%. We are penalized for being more efficient and deploying innovative energy solutions, like battery storage. We are even prevented from adding resources within our footprint, meaning our communities do not receive the financial benefit of companies wanting to invest in renewables close to home.

It is important to remember the decision to seek FERC oversight was our power supplier’s alone. United Power did not support the decision for a number of critical reasons, chief among them the loss of local control to set rates, combine cooperative needs, and jointly manage costs. 

In contrast, one of the greatest strengths we have as a cooperative is local control through your elected Board of Directors. This ties to another critical pillar in our Roadmap – empowering and engaging our members and communities. Your Board members come from your towns and understand the values and concerns of each community’s residents. They provide direct oversight of the cooperative and hold the power to establish rates, but they ultimately answer to members as representatives of their communities.

I have recently been honored to present on the topic of changes within the electric industry at local chambers of commerce and regional energy conferences. I would be pleased to address any similar organizations about the future of the industry and anticipated changes to it. If you are involved in a local organization wishing to hear about our initiatives, just send an email and someone will reach out to set up a presentation.

Finally, October was Cybersecurity Awareness Month. United Power remains vigilant to threats our system faces as we strive to achieve and maintain business agility and resiliency through information and operational technology, which is our fourth and final Roadmap pillar.  We cannot let our guard down, given there are those who wish to do harm to the electric grid. 

As always, please feel free to reach out to me with your questions and concerns. It is an honor and privilege to serve you and the great staff at United Power.