United Power, an electric cooperative utility headquartered in Brighton, Colorado, and the Town of Frederick, Colorado, jointly announced today that they have reached an agreement for the cooperative to purchase the Town of Frederick’s municipal electric utility, Frederick Power & Light.

Frederick has agreed to sell the electrical infrastructure to United Power, who will provide on-going service to the citizens of the Town’s original municipal utility. This agreement means that all Frederick residents will be served by United Power.

“We are pleased to reach a resolution on this issue, and look forward to welcoming these Frederick citizens as new members of our cooperative,” stated James Vigesaa, United Power Board President. “The agreement helps to clarify our future territory and will help us to plan for all our future growth in an efficient and effective manner.”

“Throughout the process of exploring options related to our electric utility, our main goal has been to find a solution that is in the best interests of our community,” said Tony Carey, Mayor of Frederick. “We have met that goal as this agreement is a win for our residents and United Power’s members. I’m excited to continue moving forward with our new board as we explore more opportunities for Frederick’s future.”

The agreement will help the cooperative better integrate their electric delivery system as it grows, and brings greater density to the operation, which will reduce operating costs for all cooperative members. Information and updates about the purchase and transition will be available on both the Town of Frederick and United Power’s websites. Additionally, United Power will be reaching out to affected citizens in the coming weeks to welcome them to the cooperative, and share information about the transition.

“On behalf of United Power’s Board of Directors I want to extend our thanks to the Town Trustees of Frederick,” stated Vigesaa. “We appreciate their willingness to negotiate, and to reach an agreement that is good for not only their citizens, but for the cooperative membership at-large.”

United Power recently asked elementary students in its service territory to help demonstrate electrical safety in its annual Electrical Safety Poster Contest. Kids in grades kindergarten through fifth submitted creative and educational posters designed to teach family and friends how to stay safe around electricity. United Power will place winning poster designs on bus benches during the month of May, which is recognized as National Electrical Safety Month.

Employees at the member-owned cooperative voted to select the following winners from each grade for the 2018 Electrical Safety Poster Contest: Zariah McPherson from Reunion Elementary, Joey Seymour from Platteville Elementary, Maddilyn Griffis from Bromley East Charter School, Sofie Archer from Landmark Academy, Troy Wymer from Hoff Elementary, and Kaydence States from Bromley East Charter School.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to all the students who entered their creative safety messages. Look for winning safety posters to appear through the cooperative service territory for the month of May.

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative serving more than 83,000 homes and busineses along Colorado’s northern front range. To learn more about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative at Facebook.com/UnitedPower.

When darkness befalls a city, superheroes lace up their boots, throw on their capes and race into danger without a moment’s hesitation. Everyone knows the classic Spider-Man quote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Every day heroes may not wear capes and fly around the city, but they know when the going gets tough, it’s time for them to get going. 

The Denver area is synonymous with winter storms, and when the metro last experienced the most trying pitfalls of living at the base of the Rocky Mountains in October 2009, United Power linemen were prepped and ready to go as snow blanketed the metro area. Schools and businesses took preemptive action, closing before the storm hit. By the time the last snowflake nestled in with its brethren, snow had been falling for more than 24 hours. 

While area youth enjoyed a day away from the classroom, a different picture unfolded in the Front Range. Coal Creek Canyon, a community within United Power’s mountain service area, had accumulated nearly four feet of snow. 

To put that number into perspective, Chicago’s average annual snowfall is around three feet.  

Calm winds allowed the snow to gingerly build on tree branches, poles, yard ornaments and fences, bringing with it a massive burden. Each new snowflake resting precariously on unsuspecting surfaces brought weight inching toward disaster, like the dastardly plan of a supervillain. Before the storm faded, thousands of Coal Creek residents were without power as tree branches, cross arms and power lines succumbed to the weight of the snow. 

Within moments of the outage, United Power had begun mobilizing crews to diagnose the situation and restore power. Operations Superintendent Mike Lanckriet, a lineman of 32 years, and his crew were among the first to respond. 

“We took careful steps to monitor the storm as it moved into our territory, but we never expected the amount of snow we got,” Lanckriet said. “At times the snow was deeper than our linemen were tall. But we didn’t think of it in terms of challenges. When we arrived, our first focus was what needed to be done to get the power back on.”

United Power linemen wouldn’t let the enormity of the task ahead deter them from accomplishing their goal. They laced up their boots, threw on their tools and raced headfirst into our worst winter storm in more than 12 years.

Crews spent nearly a week battling dense snow, bitter cold and physical and mental fatigue while alternating 14 hour shifts to restore power to Coal Creek. Final repairs, however, took more than two weeks to complete. 

“You try to be as prepared as possible before a large storm, but there’s always a level of unpredictability,” said Kurt Eisenbarth, another United Power superintendent and former lineman. “It takes a different mentality to thrive on that in the most critical situations.”

Living along the Front Range means each winter brings the possibility of another debilitating winter storm, but in reality critical situations come few and far between. Most of the time, linemen are working when the weather’s calm and the sun is shining. It’s easy to forget the service they provide when the situation isn’t seen as “critical,” easy to divorce their role from the danger linemen face each day. 

“It doesn’t take lightning or snow for our job to be dangerous,” said Operations Manager Brent Sydow. “The most routine task requires a high level of care and safety.”

Being a lineman requires hard work, dedication and commitment – to their crew and their work – to doing dangerous work, knowing the fruits of their labor are often misunderstood or unrecognized. 

Residents in a comic book rest easy knowing a superhero is there to save the day when danger rears its head, much like we confidently trust in the unimpeded flow of electricity to power our lives. But when the power fails, our linemen spring into action. 

We invite our members to join us in celebrating National Lineman Appreciation Day on April 18th. Use #ThankALineman on social media to show your support, or take a moment to drop a kind note in the mail. 

Outages can come without warning, from a variety of different situations, but one thing you can count on: when the power goes out, a United Power line crew is already on its way. 

“When the power goes out, it’s about a brotherhood coming together to accomplish a goal, working shoulder to shoulder through blood, sweat and tears,” Eisenbarth said. “At night, they get to be the superheroes.”  
 

Electricity is something many don’t think about until it’s not working. For some, backup plans are already in place to ensure a continual flow of power when storms or high winds threaten to disrupt service. 

The use of portable generators is commonplace during power outages, but you may not know they can potentially create one of the more dangerous situations for the linemen trying to restore power to you and your neighbors. When a generator is plugged into a wall outlet, service panel or breaker box, it produces a “backfeed,” which happens when electrical energy flows in the reverse direction from its normal flow. A backfeed reenergizes the transformer closest to your house, and puts linemen at risk of electrocution. 

Think of a transformer as a funnel. As electricity enters the transformer from the powerlines, it is funneled out at a lower voltage sufficient to provide power to a household. When it enters from the reverse direction, it has the opposite effect, returning the voltage to a higher level. Linemen who are caught unaware of a backfeed could risk serious injury, or even death. 

It is never recommended to plug a generator into a wall outlet, service panel or breaker box; instead, plug appliances and other electrical devices directly into the generator as specified in the product’s operating instructions. In the event you find it necessary to plug the generator into a wall outlet, flipping your property’s main breaker to the “off” position may provide protection to linemen working in the area. This position prevents electricity from flowing into or out of the breaker. Remember to disconnect your generator from the wall outlet prior to turning the breaker back on.

Linemen spend countless hours in dangerous situations making sure power continues to flow to every member in our service area. Help us take the necessary steps to keep them safe. 
 

2018 D.C. Youth Tour Delegates

United Power selected three local students to represent the cooperative at this year’s Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington D.C in June. Hannah Rockwell of Brighton, Megan Lewis from Firestone and Jordyn Saffy of Brighton were selected based on academic performance, extracurricular activities, volunteer efforts and a brief essay.

Local electric cooperatives throughout the country sponsor approximately 1,500 ambitious high school students from small towns and cities for an incredible week in the nation’s capital with the objective of providing an educational experience for young people on the organization and operation of a cooperative. Cooperatives are committed to educating America’s rural youth about the country and the role electric cooperatives play in developing strong rural communities. 

Hannah Rockwell is a student at Weld Central High School where she is an athlete in cross country and track. She is a member of the National Honor Society and president of her school’s Future Business Leaders of America Club. Hannah loves school and her future plans include pursuing a career in medicine. 

Megan Lewis attends Frederick High School, where she is a member of the National Honor Society and the Student Advisory Committee. Megan is active in musicals/plays at her school, and is on both the varsity cross country and tennis teams. Her future plans include college and medical school. 

Jordyn Saffy attends high school at Eagle Ridge Academy. Jordan is captain of the volleyball team, president of the spirit team and participates in track and field. Her future plans include a degree in health sciences, which she intends to use to help those in need.

2018 Youth Leadership Camp Winners

United Power has also selected Brooklyn Stubby of Mapleton Early College in Commerce City and Catera Gagna of Brighton to represent the cooperative at the 2018 Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in Steamboat Springs, Colorado this July. The camp is offered to high school juniors and seniors in the United Power service area. Interested students are asked to apply, and winners are selected based on academic performance, extracurriculr activities and volunteer efforts. 

The primary objective of the camp is to provide an educational experience for youth on the organization and operation of a cooperative. The camp strives to help develop leadership skills that will assist students with challenges they will face in the future.

Brooklyn Stubby attends Mapleton Early College and is active in student council, swimming and student mentoring. Brooklyn is keeping her options open, but is considering physical therapy, detective work or personal training/nutrition. 

Catera Gagna is a student at Brighton High School and plays softball. She is a member of the principal’s honor roll, student government and volunteers at a local elementary school. Catera plans to attend college and pursue a career in engineering.