Brighton, CO – United Power proudly announces its scholarship recipients for 2022. Each year, the cooperative awards more than $20,000 in scholarships to outstanding students in its service territory. The United Power Scholarship Committee selected 19 high school seniors based on grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, community involvement and a written essay. Applications are made available by December each year.

2022 scholarship recipients include:

• Kira Donahue, Legacy High School, United Power Colorado College Scholarship, $2,000
• Michael Garcia, Eagle Ridge Academy, United Power Colorado College Scholarship, $2,000
• Sophia Meza, Frederick High School, United Power Youth Leadership Scholarship, $1,500
• Lauryn Daniel, Erie High School, Basin Electric Power Cooperative Scholarship, $1,000
• Bethany Parker, Frederick High School, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Scholarship, $1,000
• Hayley Price, Mead High School, Lois Lesser Education Scholarship, $1,000
• Will Greiner, Frederick High School, Bill Berens Memorial Scholarship, $1,000

Additionally, United Power dedicates a book scholarship to each high school within its service territory, provided students from those schools submit applications. This year, United Power distributed 12 of these $1,000 scholarships, including two “at-large” selections. Dedicated book scholarships for 2022 were awarded to:

• Giana Rocha, Brighton High School
• Adrien Ambrosio, Eagle Ridge Academy
• Kaitlyn Fitzjohn, Erie High School
• Elizabeth Schmidt, Frederick High School
• Jennifer Silva Garcia, Fort Lupton High School
• Elsa Burgesser, Mead High School
• Aubree Burris, Prairie View High School
• Ximena Navarro, Riverdale Ridge High School
• Cesar Calixto, Weld Central High School
• Halle Yocom, Mountain Territory
• Daniela Guadana Huizar, at-large selection
• Audrey Long, at-large selection.

More information about United Power’s 2022 scholarship recipients can be found in the co-op’s monthly newsletter to members.

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 cooperatives 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.

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Date: 4/29/2022
United Power filed a non-conditional Notice of Intent to Withdraw from our power supplier in compliance with a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling. This changes our previously announced Tri-State exit date of Jan. 1, 2024 to May 1, 2024.

United Power hosted a hybrid Annual Meeting on April 13, allowing members to gather in person for the first time since 2019. The cooperative was pleased to return to an in-person format this year. Nearly 450 members and guests attended the meeting either in person or online. The meeting included a video recap highlighting the cooperative’s accomplishments over the last year, an annual financial report, and the certification of the director election.

Voting in the director election was conducted via mail-in and electronic balloting. The cooperative introduced electronic balloting this year to provide members with a fast, secure and convenient way to submit ballots and avoid delays in mail handling. More than 6,000 member ballots were cast in the election. East District incumbent, Elizabeth “Beth” Martin, retained her seat, receiving 2,728 votes. Steven “Steve” Douglas received 2,536 votes and Naptali A. Lucks received 700 votes in the race for the East District. Ursula J. Morgan, West District, and Keith Alquist, South District, ran unopposed and will retain their seats with 5,341 and 5,337 votes, respectively.

Ursula J. Morgan, Board Chairman and Mark A. Gabriel, President and CEO, summarized the cooperative’s performance in 2021 with a video presentation. The cooperative surpassed 100,000 meter connections, improved operational efficiencies, and implemented several innovative projects all in the last year.

The addition of more than 4,600 new meters pushed United Power beyond 100,000 meters early last summer. It became just the 31st electric cooperative nationwide to surpass this mark and only the second in Colorado. While more meters were being added, the operations team conducted targeted maintenance, which reduced outage times to nearly half the national average.

United Power also expanded its electric vehicle charging network, installed a diesel generator in Gilpin County, and deployed its first hybrid bucket truck. The cooperative’s second charging station at the Market Street Mart in Keenesburg filled a gap in available charging infrastructure along Interstate 76. The generator project provided an outage solution and emergency backup to members located at the ends of the co-op’s lines where it can be difficult to restore power quickly due to isolation and mountain terrain. 

Most significantly, United Power announced its intentions to pursue a change in its wholesale power supplier effective January 2024. Wholesale power costs account for approximately 75% of member rates and attempts to negotiate the cooperative’s existing contract have failed. Based on the broader economic landscape, leadership believes it is in the best interest of members to find an alternate supplier moving forward.

“This was not a decision that was reached without exhaustive research and deliberation,” said Morgan. “We considered the impact on rates and reliability, as well as the flexibility of our power supply. The Board believes this is the right direction for our cooperative.”

The cost of power under the current contract is nearly 20-25% higher than market levels. The availability of self-generation and storage options combined with existing contract limitations no longer meet the needs of United Power members.

“Our goal is to provide both lower-cost power and more options for our members,” Gabriel said. “We are confident we can craft a new future for our members, and we are excited to bring the opportunities to you.”

United Power anticipates far-reaching change and innovation to come to the electric utility industry in the years ahead. One of the cooperative’s biggest accomplishments last year was developing Our Cooperative Roadmap, a long-term action plan to maintain United Power’s strength and competitiveness in the evolving industry.

“What does the future look like for United Power?” Gabriel asked. “We need to continue to provide a robust network so that every member behind every meter has every possible option and opportunity to engage in the way they desire. Bottom line: we need to do this while ensuring high quality, high reliability, and reasonably priced power.”

Keith Alquist, United Power’s Board Treasurer, presented the cooperative’s financials and reported the cooperative is in good fiscal shape. The finance team at United Power continues to receive compliments from auditors for their professionalism, completeness and accuracy in preparing financial statements at year-end and on a monthly basis.

Videos and information presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting, including the cooperative’s 2021 Annual Report, are available here.

Looking ahead while focusing on the present is a challenge in today’s electric power industry. Whether it is changing regulations; the desire of more members to engage with us as their electric cooperative in new ways; the advancement of technologies; or simply the expectations of high quality, always on, reliable power, being prepared is key.

Thanks to the hard work of staff at United Power, supported by our Board of Directors, we have created “Our Cooperative Roadmap,” or Roadmap, to document both where we are today and how we are looking toward the future. The Roadmap has four Guiding Principles: Reliability, Affordability, Flexibility, and Responsibility. Each of these principles embodies the elements most critical to us as we seek to prepare for the future while building and maintaining the important investments we have made on behalf of our members over the decades. These are the lenses through which we evaluate options such as reimagining our power supply, integrating new technologies, preparing for future markets, and supporting the needs of the workforce.

Reliability

Strive to deliver high-quality, uninterrupted service to our members through the design, operation, protection, and maintenance of a failure-resistant and resilient electric distribution system.

Affordability

Continually seek fair and equitable wholesale rates, manage distribution costs in a highly efficient manner, and responsibly allocate those costs across our membership with stable and transparent rate options.

Flexibility

Demonstrate maximum agility and adaptiveness through forward-looking plans; versatile, innovative programs and business models; and diverse power supply options as we respond to changes in our environment and the needs of our members and community.

Responsibility

Act honestly, ethically, sustainably, and in the best interest of our members and communities as we manage operations and secure resources.

The Roadmap defines the working plan priorities for your cooperative and aligns the work of employees at United Power. The document will ensure continuity in our thinking and guide us as we make important resource decisions. 

The Roadmap also keeps us looking at the immediate opportunities and challenges we face. The criticality of electricity has never been more evident as a growing number of our members work from home. The advances of technology require high quality, reliable power. And, as our communities grow, so too do the demands for more power.

A good example in planning ahead and working for today lies in the investments your cooperative made in our fire mitigation plan. Several years ago, we began switching to covered cable in the mountains, undergrounded critical lines, and moved to an advanced breaker. While no plan can perfectly protect us from the unpredictability of wildfires, we were ready to respond during the recent events here in Colorado. Fortunately, our system was not impacted.

The same is true as we ready our technologies to accept more distributed energy resources, storage, and solar on our system while preparing for the advent of a power market here in the west.

We encourage members to read Our Cooperative Roadmap and engage in future discussions about it. The senior team and I welcome the opportunity to come and speak to community groups and will be posting several videos online that cover the Roadmap’s key elements. 

Our Cooperative Roadmap covers a wide range of areas – all designed with you, our member, in mind. Importantly, it helps define the cooperative’s future and keeps us on track today. As always, I welcome your comments, questions, and feedback on any topic, including the Roadmap. Please contact me here.