Modernization of the electric grid should not be the singular focus of spending in the United States, rather we should also be targeting our efforts and dollars at specific projects that will make the most immediate impacts. Billions are spent every year on upgrading the system and adding intelligence to the grid and are always balanced against the impacts on rates and customers. Even with unlimited checkbooks on transmission – California and Texas are great examples – system issues can occur.

As a country, we should dream big but equally critical are to make improvements that can have an immediate impact on improving the nation’s infrastructure. The vision of seven hundred and sixty-five megawatt lines crisscrossing the U.S. is a “BHAG” – big, hairy audacious goal – that should be pursued.

However, with even the simplest transmission project taking a decade or more, we should take some specific, short- and medium-term actions.

It is also important to realize while permitting is slow, money is currently available to invest in transmission. The hang up is in assuring the line will be used and commitments made to guarantee the offtake of power. In other words, if no demand backed by financial arrangements, no construction. So, what projects do I believe can and should be done today?

Rebuild the seven AC/DC ties between the Eastern and Western grid. At a cost of roughly thirty million, this project could be complete in less than eighteen months.

Expand the Mead Substation at Hoover Dam into a renewable energy hub. This project will take between twenty-four to thirty-six months to complete. It is at the base of the El Dorado Valley, connects to California, and is the ideal spot for a robust hub.

Complete the Intertie Project started in 1964. In forty-eight months or less, the two hundred and seventy-five miles of transmission could be built that would loop the Pacific Northwest across the west and into the Southwest Power Pool.

Widen our focus and fund technology that benefits the nation and not just a single region. Concentrate those efforts on grid cybersecurity, as well as advanced system sensing to anticipate and avoid issues.

Another key area is to create a cohesive national effort to enhance wildfire tools and technology, including the expansion of right-of-way tree clearing. Encourage or standardize the use of coated cables, especially in areas when undergrounding is limited by terrain or cost.

Create an incentive structure that supports our end goals for improvements in the grid. Pay higher incentives for the power solutions that are really needed: pay a higher rate of return for lines that serve grids wider than a single state, quit paying for redundant infrastructure, and guarantee offtake as a fundamental component of the incentive structure.

Create real markets that span time zones and weather conditions and empower those entities to support. This should also include an RTO to coordinate offshore wind and provide the trading and management platform.

Finally, recognize that transmission is best suited to fix the growing energy divide. The digital divide is often spoken of in our country when the energy divide is an even greater one to navigate for underserved or unserved communities. The “haves” can afford solar panels and storage, while the “have nots” are paying the price. The haves can create microgrids – which serve a purpose – but also serve to create a balkanized electrical system.

Our current business models hang on an engineering measurement – the kilowatt/megawatt hour paradigm. This paradigm is no longer valid when the haves can move their energy supply off the grid for a portion of the day while the have nots pay the carrying costs. We need to move beyond a simple engineering focus on our grid and the delivery of power and understand the far-reaching effects being created with our inherently uneven system.

The question to be asking is how can we effectively grow our grid to realize all the intrinsic potential, and bring all our citizens along to enjoy those benefits? Let us dream for the future and act for today.

This article recently appeared in August 2021 Public Utilities Fortnightly. Read the original article here. 

Pad-mounted transformers, those big green utility boxes commonly seen around town, serve the purpose of lowering high voltage to standard household voltage used to power electronics, appliances and lighting. These transformers are not protected in the way overhead lines and substations are. Though they may appear safe to use as workbenches and climbing obstacles, electrical equipment can still pose a risk to anyone who may come in contact with them. Members should always use caution and keep a safe distance.

United Power crews also need safe access for repairs and maintenance. Barriers, such as landscaping and fencing, should be kept clear of electrical equipment. While it may be tempting to “camouflage” transformers with landscaping, please remember cooperative crews need at least 10-feet of clearance at the opening of a pad-mounted transformer and four-feet at the rear and sides of the housing. The distance allows crews to safely use tools required for working with energized equipment. It also ensures crews have the ability to move about safely should problems arise.

In many newer subdivisions and residential developments pad-mounted transformers are more common – and in many cases are located on consumer property. These transformers are connected to primary high voltage lines, and secondary lines can extend from the transform in several directions underground. Remember this before planting shrubs or trees, setting fence posts, installing sprinkler systems or digging anywhere near a transformer. And remember, you should always dial 811 before you dig to ensure lines are located so your project doesn’t disrupt utility service, cause serious injury or worse.

Nominations are Now Open for the Third Round of Grant Recipients

The second-round recipients of Member Choice Grants for 2021 have been selected. United Power is proud to announce Commerce City’s Community Uplift Partnership (CUP) and Soul Dog Rescue, out of Fort Lupton, have been selected from nominations submitted by our members to receive grants this round.

The cooperative introduced Member Choice Grants in early 2020, asking members to nominate nonprofit organizations within the service territory they would like to see us help support. The grant nomination process gives members a voice and helps ensure we are supporting causes they truly care about.

United Power has received several dozen nominations for nonprofit organizations providing a variety of services for those in need within the communities we serve. To submit a nomination for round three, go to www.unitedpower.com/memberchoice.

Community Uplift Partnership

Young adults are some of the most vibrant people in our communities. Community Uplift Partnership (CUP) reminds them they have value beyond a paycheck, strengthens them to conquer barriers to employment opportunities that provide sustainable wages and equips them to make better decisions for the future of their families.

Soul Dog Rescue

Soul Dog Rescue is an animal rescue located in Fort Lupton with the mission to spay/neuter and protect animals. Soul Dog performs collaborative, targeted work, primarily through spay/neuter, in underserved regions in order to create sustainable change and promote cultural shifts regarding the treatment of animals.

Nominations are now open for the third round of Member Choice Grants, which will be announced in an upcoming issue of the United Newsline. Submit a nomination at www.unitedpower.com/memberchoice.

United Power Just the 31st Cooperative Nationally to Reach 100,000 Meters

United Power in June became one of just a handful of electric cooperatives nationwide to surpass 100,000 meters. The achievement highlights a period of sustained growth for the Brighton-based co-op that began in the early 2000s and continued even this past year despite a historic pandemic. United Power had anticipated reaching the meter mark in 2021 but did so much earlier than expected due to an increase in growth early this year.

By surpassing 100,000 meters, United Power becomes just the second Colorado electric cooperative to reach the mark, joining Intermountain Rural Electric Association, headquartered southwest of Denver in Sedalia.

“It is truly a historic accomplishment to reach this meter milestone,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “United Power has long had a reputation for excellence among its cooperative peers, and it now joins a select few who serve more than 100,000 meters. Our size and reputation will amplify our voice in helping shape the future of the electric industry.”

Like all electric cooperatives, United Power was established to serve a largely rural population in an area that was considered too inconvenient or unprofitable for large electric utilities. Today, there are more than 800 electric cooperatives serving members throughout the country. Many have remained small because of the sparsely populated areas they are serving, but others, like United Power, have found themselves in rapidly growing areas close to large metropolitans.

Few cities are experiencing the growth surge that began in Denver several years ago. While much of the cooperative’s service territory is still rural, it now also serves some of the fastest growing communities in the country as more people are relocating to the Denver area. Maintaining control of the area has not always been easy. United Power had to survive an aggressive buyout attempt from the Public Service Company of Colorado — now Xcel Energy — which no longer saw the cooperative’s service territory as either unprofitable or inconvenient.

United Power was established by a group of farmers in and around Brighton in 1938 with only a couple hundred original members. It took the cooperative nearly 40 years to surpass 10,000 meters. When United Power reached an agreement with Public Service Company to forgo the buyout in the mid-1980s, growth had come to the area, but not like it would in the years to follow. By 2004, it had reached 50,000 meters, and a decade later in 2015 surpassed 75,000. During its largest growth year in 2004, the cooperative gained approximately 5,000 new meters, more than it gained during a twenty year stretch from 1950-1970 combined.

The cooperative has already experienced record growth again this year, and is on pace to add several thousand more meters to its system before the end of the year. The continued growth has United Power now setting its sights on the next meter mark.

“We are adding new meters at an unprecedented rate,” said Gabriel. “But more importantly, we are adding members. Each new meter represents a new family on our lines or a new business helping shape the economy of the communities we serve. Our members make us stronger, and they make our communities stronger. As your cooperative, it is our privilege to be able to serve each and every one of our members.”

United Power invites members to join in celebrating this meter milestone with the cooperative and with each other at our 100,000 Meter Open House celebration at the Carbon Valley Service Center on August 28. The events will provide members with an opportunity to learn more about the cooperative and see how its newest facility and office location are effectively serving members on the west side of the service territory.

United Power has partnered with the Carbon Valley Help Center and encourages event attendees to bring a canned food item or cash donations to assist the Help Center in meeting the needs of others in the area.

Join us!

United Power 100,000 Meter Open House Celebration
Saturday, August 28

For more than a year, United Power has had to alter business practices so that it could continue serving members safely and effectively. While linemen continued responding to outages and conducting maintenance to improve reliability, other practices had to change to accommodate members and employees throughout the pandemic.

In June, the cooperative was able to resume normal activities as state officials began easing public health requirements for businesses and public spaces.

Brighton Office Reopens

United Power welcomed employees back when its office location in Brighton re-opened to members on June 1. The cooperative preemptively closed its office locations in March 2020 as the pandemic began and employees transitioned to remote work.

To help members continue to access convenient payment centers, several payment kiosks were installed around the cooperative’s service territory, including its office locations in Carbon Valley and Brighton. A kiosk had previously been installed at the Coal Creek office and another was added in Fort Lupton at the Bank of Colorado Operation Center. The four payment kiosks will remain available for members who would like to continue using them.

In Your Community

For the first time in more than a year, in-person community events have returned, and United Power will play a crucial role in helping make many of them a reality. Not only that, but you’ll see the cooperative present at several upcoming events throughout the summer and fall. Be sure to stop by the cooperative’s booths to say hello. Our employees are ready to see our members’ friendly faces.

Employee Vaccination Clinic

Scheduling a vaccination appointment was a difficult task this spring. With employees returning to the office, United Power hosted a free and voluntary clinic for employees — and their families — who were interested in receiving the vaccine but had been unable to schedule an appointment. It’s one more way the cooperative is ensuring its employees can return to work and interact with members safely.

Carbon Valley Open House

All members are invited to United Power’s Carbon Valley Service Center on August 28 to celebrate the co-op surpassing 100,000 meters. The cooperative will also finally have an opportunity to unveil its newest office location to members in attendance during the celebration.

As United Power and the communities it serves continue the transition out of COVID protocols, the cooperative looks forward to seeing its members again.

Safe Ways to Pay Your Bills

United Power reopened its Brighton office to members beginning June 1. For members who have not been vaccinated or are uncomfortable coming into United Power’s office to make payments, the cooperative offers a variety of safe alternatives:

• Online/Mobile: A quick and easy way to view your account and make payments from your home or remotely using the United Power app. Online accounts can also be used to report outages.
• Auto Pay: A hassle-free way to ensure payments are made on time every month. Sign up using your online account.
• Payment Kiosks: United Power has four kiosk locations: Brighton, Carbon Valley, Fort Lupton and Coal Creek. Members only need an account number and form of payment. Cash/credit are applied immediately to your account.
• Pay By Phone: Payment can be made 24 hours/day by calling 866-999-4485.
• Pay Now: Allows members to make quick, one-time payments without needing a login or password. You’ll just need an account number and form of payment.
• Pay As You Go: A new payment method for members allows you to pay for power before you use it.

For more information about payment options, go to www.unitedpower.com/payments.