If you’ve seen your electric usage trickle up over the past couple months, it might have something to do with Colorado’s hot summer weather. By mid-July, the state had already experienced more than 30 days of temperatures higher than 90 degrees, breaking a July 2012 temperature record. 

While the excessive heat wave has probably contributed to some increase in your energy usage, there are some other factors that may have, as well. It’s a good time to talk about those reasons, and how you can use your air conditioning in a way that keeps you comfortable without the added burden on your bill. 

Summer vacation is over for school age kids, but for the past two months, they’ve been spending more time at home while you’re at work. That means more time running the air conditioning, playing on electronics and maybe even cooking. All those things require more energy. 

Along with having kids home during the weekday, maybe you or your family recently purchased a pool or used your existing pool more often to escape the summer heat. Water features, like pool pumps, use a lot of extra energy. 

Seemingly small things can also contribute extra energy usage over the summer. Remembering to close windows and blinds, which block solar heat from entering your home, can keep the house a little cooler. Programmable smart thermostats also give you control when you’re away from the home. You can turn the air conditioning on when you’re about to head home or turn it off if you’re out and forgot. 

The summer months are coming to an end and the kids are back in school, but there are a few tips and tricks you can use to help save a little more energy until fall rolls around or even when summer returns next year. 

Start with growth prevention. Grass and other plants can grow up around outside air conditioning units, making it more difficult for them to breathe, potentially freezing coils. Take a few extra moments each week to make sure any excess growth around your unit has been cleared. 

When you return home from a long day at work or out with the family, turn on your ceiling fan before the air conditioning. The breeze the fan creates will evaporate moisture from your skin and make you feel cooler, even when room temperatures are a few degrees warmer. Remember to turn off fans when you leave a room, though.

If you’re new to Colorado, you might not be familiar with the advantages the climate here provides. Opening your windows before going to bed allows cool air to move through your home so you can keep the air conditioning off. Remember to close windows early in the morning and pull blinds on the south and west sides of your home later in the day. 

Another quick and easy technique you can utilize is weatherstripping. Air leaks from your home through cracks around windows, doors and even the foundation. Applying weatherstripping and caulking seals in cool air and prevents hot air from entering. 
 

Veteran United Power lineman Kelly Snow has been selected to join five other Colorado linemen and eight Oklahoma linemen to bring power to two remote jungle villages in Guatemala this September. 

The villages, Pel del Cerro and Tierra Blanca Salinas, are located in the Ixcán region of northwestern Guatemala and do not have access to reliable and affordable electricity. The communities are home to approximately 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers. 

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back in such a rewarding way,” Kelly Snow said. “Most of us have never had to know a day without electricity. I can only imagine what it would mean to people who’ve never had it before. “

The fifteen member crew will install 130 poles, two transformers and more than eight miles of electrical line without the assistance of modern machinery over the course of the three week project. While most of the terrain will be flat, roughly one mile of the path passes through dense rain forest growth. 

“I’ve worked in ice storms, blizzards and floods,” Snow said. “I am well aware of the difficulties of working in adverse conditions. It’s these kinds of challenges that make the project very appealing.”

The project is a joint effort between Colorado and Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives and made possible by NRECA International, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, whose mission is to increase individual and community access to electricity in all parts of the world. Over the past 50 years, NRECA International has provided electricity to more than 126 million people.

The Colorado Rural Electric Association selected the seven-member team representing Colorado in Guatemala following interviews earlier this year. Snow has been with United Power for the past 15 years, and has more than 20 years combined experience. 

“The Rural Electric Association was founded on the principal of bringing electricity to rural America,” Snow said. “It’s an inspiration to be a part of that foundation and spreading it to other countries.” 
 

Following the results of a year-long trial of a pilot demand rate, the United Power Board of Directors agreed to a phase-in plan of a residential demand rate to replace the current rate structure.

“Since we have detailed information about how members use power in their homes, the new demand rate will be a fairer way for us to bill members for their use,” stated Dean Hubbuck, Director of Power Supply and Rates. “The impact on the system from residential users is lower than commercial customers, and their rates will reflect the difference. We believe a modest demand charge with a reasonable energy rate is the best way to recover our costs.”

The dynamic pricing model will provide a more fair cost structure, and gives members an ability to control their costs by staggering the use of electric appliances.

Learning about how a demand rate works will take a lot of communication, so the five year period is being used to help our members and employees better understand the rate and how members can control their costs with some simple strategies.

All members will now be seeing a new line on their bill simply entitled “Demand Charge.” Initially, there will not be a dollar amount attached to this line item while we provide the information as education for members. By adding the new line it will allow members to see an actual number that corresponds to their use. In 2019 United Power will institute a demand charge and that will slowly increase, with a corresponding reduction in the energy charge.

United Power has been actively communicating how a demand charge works via the newsletter United Newsline and members can find more information about Residential Demand here on our website. This information is being presented ahead of the rate change so our members have the opportunity to gain an understanding of this new way of thinking about their electric consumption.

Many members will see very little change in their bills, but some members who use more energy all at once may be more heavily affected, and without the demand rate they have been driving up costs for other users. We will continue to communicate about these changes via the newsletter and our website.