When used safely and properly, portable space heaters provide a nice relief from the frigid chills of winter temperatures, which can often invade poorly insulated or ventilated rooms in older homes. Although space heaters are safe to use indoors because they don’t require combustion, they still pose burn and fire hazards and should be used with caution. 

Before operating, review the manufacturer’s instructions, including warning labels. Space heaters may seem like simple, easy to use electronics, but each brand and version has its own unique quirks and features. It’s better to be safe than sorry. After reviewing the instructions, inspect the space heater for cracks or broken plugs. 

Next, be sure to place the heater in a safe location. They should be located at least three feet away from anything that can burn, such as clothing and other fabrics, papers, rugs, etc. Do not place space heaters on furniture, such as chairs or tables. Place heaters on a firm, flat location on the ground away from heavily trafficked areas. 

Space heaters place a heavy load on an outlet. For this reason, do not plug any other electrical devices into the same outlet. Extension cords or power strips could also overheat and result in a fire, so plug the heater directly into the wall outlet. 

Most importantly, never leave space heaters unattended. Turn it off before you leave a room or go to sleep, and don’t let animals or children play too close to the heater. When you’re done using the space heater, always unplug it and store it safely. 

Space Heater Sticker Shock

Winter weather has arrived just in time to greet us for the holidays, and that means the cold temperatures that accompany it have also arrived. Heating is our biggest energy consumer in the winter, and when you are able to do it efficiently, you’ll notice savings on your bill. 

Unfortunately, try as we might, some rooms in our homes just don’t seem to stay as warm as others, whether that’s a room away from the furnace in an older home or a large open room that just needs a little extra warmth in the winter. 

A nice, cozy solution for providing some additional warmth in these rooms can be to use a portable space heater. However, the cost of using one of these heaters can add up quickly over the course of a few days if you’re not careful.

Space heaters are big consumers of electricity, most commonly sold as either 750- or 1500-watt models at retailers like Home Depot or Lowe’s. 

Using your space heater for as little as two hours per day over the course of a month can end up costing you nearly $10 extra on your monthly energy bill. The more hours your space heater is operating, the faster those extra charges add up.

Before you consider space heaters to solve your heating issues, try addressing some of these alternatives. 

• Search and seal. Cool air can find small cracks to get through. Sealing and caulking windows, doors and floors helps keep rooms free of cold air.
• Insulate. Upgrade your insulation or add to your existing insulation to trap more warm air in your home. 
• Install storm windows. These provide an added layer of insulation, which helps retain more heat.

October is nationally recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to increase awareness and rally people to help fund research to find a cure for the disease.

This October, United Power joined the ongoing battle to find a cure through an employee-led effort to support colleagues, raise funds and create awareness. The idea began to spread after co-op linemen asked permission to wear pink hard hats throughout the month, and evolved into a company-wide engagement effort.

“It’s exciting that this movement began internally by our linemen,” said Community Outreach Specialist Julie Stewart. “It’s even more exciting to see the support from the rest of our employees. As a co-op, caring for our communities is a core part of who we are, and I think this demonstrates how much they care.”

The cooperative issued linemen pink hard hats to wear on the job throughout the month of October, and employees received pink “United for the Cure” shirts. Employees were encouraged to wear their shirts every Thursday during the month. To raise funds for breast cancer treatment and support, internal departments donated themed silent auction baskets. The silent auction raised $5,000. The check was presented to the Platte Valley Medical Center Foundation at an employee meeting in November.

“The employee engagement and support we witnessed was more than we could have hoped for,” said Member Engagement Officer Meghan Dewey. “This was a heartwarming suggestion from employees, who all helped contribute in a big way.”

Breast cancer impacts hundreds of thousands of families every year. This year alone, approximately 270,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the United States, not including non-invasive forms. It is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in women aside from skin cancer.

You can continue to help the fight locally by donating to the PVMC Foundation, which supports critical patient programs at Platte Valley Medical Center.

The United Power board of directors proposed a modest increase in residential rates at their November 8th regulatory meeting. The rate increase will vary from 1.5–2% for residential members. Members on the standard residential rate will see a 1.5% rate increase beginning with their January 1st usage, which amounts to an average increase of $1.58 per month. Members on the residential time-of-day rate and irrigation rate will see a 2% increase – an average monthly increase of $3.23 per month. 

An additional time-of-day rate was added in response to concerns raised by members utilizing the time-of-day rate. The additional time-of-day rate gives members who utilize specialized equipment and shift their consumption to off-peak periods another rate option. (See Rates Chart attachment below)

“As we move forward with the rate changes, it’s important that we listen to our members, and our newest rate is a response to their concerns,” stated Dean Hubbock, Director of Power Supply and Rates. “The new rates should have a minimal impact on members, and we now have several rates that members can consider when determining the best rate for their lifestyle.”

Last year, United Power instituted a new rate structure that allowed the cooperative to more fairly bill members for not only the power they use, but also for their impact on the electrical system delivering power. The new rate structure charges for energy and demand, breaking apart two costs that had been previously blended together. The new structure even allows members to have more control over the components of their bill that raise their costs. For example, in the residential rate, the demand charge increased by 50¢ per kW, while the energy charge drops from 10.15¢ per kWh to 9.95¢ per kWh.

“We understand that everyone has a different way they use power in their home, and by expanding our rate offerings, members can select a rate that best fits their usage patterns,” stated Hubbock.

In addition to the changes to the residential rates, the board proposed a couple additional changes. Irrigation rates will see a 2% monthly increase for 2020 – an increase of about $1.79 per month. Small and large commercial customers and large industrial primary customers will see an overall 2% monthly decrease in 2020. 

“The small reduction for commercial customers was warranted according to our most recent cost-of-service study,” stated Hubbock. “We will be conducting another full study in 2020, and that will help us continue to refine the rates we charge members in different rate classes.”

The new rates will go into effect for usage beginning January 1, 2020, so members will not see the increase on their bills until their February billing. Members can learn more about how to control their demand and lower their overall electric costs by visiting the Understanding Demand page. There are many helpful resources and videos to help you understand how the two components of your power are billed and how to control these costs.

United Power, a member-owned electric cooperative serving Colorado’s northern front range, has been investigating its power supply options with Tri-State Generation & Transmission over the last several years, as is the fiduciary responsibility to its member-owners. As part of its investigation, United Power filed a request for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to exercise its authority to establish a just, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory exit charge from Tri-State Generation & Transmission. Tri-State is a cooperative generation and transmission association headquartered in Westminster, Colorado which provides wholesale power to 40 utilities across four states, including United Power.

“United Power members deserve clean, affordable energy and we have an obligation as a cooperative to look out for the financial interests of our member-owners. We have been working for the last few years on solutions with Tri-State that would allow the co-op the flexibility to add local resources, or purchase lower cost power from other sources,” said John Parker, Chief Executive Officer for United Power. “Conversations regarding our power agreement with Tri-State have stalled and the cooperative is seeking out all possible alternatives to build in rate reductions and offer more renewable options to our energy mix.”

Power purchase agreements with Tri-State limit the purchase of additional power by United Power to just five percent of total power requirements. United Power, along with several other cooperatives, championed a bylaw change that would allow Tri-State member cooperatives to enter into partial requirement contracts.  These new partial requirement contracts are an essential component of any successful plan to de-carbonize Colorado electricity generation consistent with Colorado state policy objectives by reducing United Power’s reliance on Tri-State’s high-priced, carbon-intensive power mix. Not only that, they would allow the cooperative to better meet demands for local renewable energy projects, and ultimately reduce costs for United Power members. Since the resolution was passed earlier this year, the two parties have been unable to come to agreements on proposed solutions, and recently Tri-State placed a moratorium on all partial power and buy-out conversations until mid-2020.

“By not allowing United Power to move forward in a timely manner to seek additional energy sources, Tri-State is effectively holding this cooperative and our members hostage,” said Parker. “We are seeking partial requirements and/or buy-out solutions that are in the financial interests of the Tri-State cooperative family, and mutually beneficial to the ratepayers we serve. A full disclosure of a fair and just exit package is the information United Power needs to evaluate and ultimately make effective choices for our members.”

Colorado’s Public Utilities Law gives the Commission broad jurisdiction over public utilities like Tri-State, thus United Power has asked for their intervention to obtain a fair exit price and pricing methodology from Tri-State.

Annual Regulatory Meeting Planned for November 8, 2019

Meeting Agenda

Every year, the United Power board takes a deep dive into the rates we charge for electricity and considers both the revenue requirements of the cooperative and the anticipated load growth for the cooperative in setting rates for the upcoming year. The United Power board will be considering some adjustments in current rates and adding an additional rate for 2020 at its November 8 Regulatory Meeting.

Recommendations from staff for the upcoming year include a modest 1.5-2% increase for residential members. Similar to last year’s rate changes, the adjustment being proposed would slightly increase the demand component and reduce the cost of energy. In 2019, the cooperative incorporated a demand charge into their residential rate, while reducing the cost of energy.

“When United Power rolled out the advanced metering infrastructure several years ago, we were able to collect better data about how each member uses power in their home or business,” stated Dean Hubbuck, Director of Power Supply and Rates. “Using this data, we constructed a rate that considers not only how much power a member consumes, but we can also measure their impact on the grid that supplies that power. By breaking apart these separate components members are billed more accurately for their use and impact.”

The rate structure not only allowed the cooperative to charge members more fairly for their impact on the electrical system, but it also put more power into the hands of members to control their costs by shifting the way they use electricity in their homes. For instance, by spreading out the use of household appliances like dryers and dishwashers through the course of the day, members can have a direct impact on their demand and reduce their costs.

This year, the board is also considering a new rate that would help lessen the impact on members who utilize electric heating technology in their homes. Homes utilizing electric thermal storage units experienced a larger impact from the rate change in 2019 when compared with the average household. A group of members concerned about the increase met with staff and board members to voice their concerns and ask the board to consider their unique situation.

“One of the best things about being served by a cooperative is that members have direct access to their regulators – the board of directors,” stated Hubbuck. “In response to our members concerns we hosted public meetings, and the new rate being considered in November is in response to these meetings.”

The changes are planned to be in effect for consumption beginning January 1, which means members would see the changes on their February bills. Once the rate adjustments are decided, the changes will be communicated via the United Newsline and on the cooperative’s website.