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. 
 

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.

Capital Credit Retirement to Distribute $4.5 Million to Members in August

Even if you’re new to the cooperative world, you’ve probably heard membership has its benefits. Maybe you’ve already heard how consumer membership works or you understand the ability to participate in annual director elections. Perhaps someone you know ran for a seat in a previous election. But you may be confused in the coming weeks when you receive a check in the mail from United Power with your name on it — your little “piece of the pie.”

When you make a payment to United Power, a portion of that payment goes directly toward your investment in our electrical system through capital improvements. These improvements help maintain our system, provide reliable energy to you and your neighbors and propel us into the future. 

However, capital improvements aren’t always necessary, leaving the cooperative with a surplus of funds earmarked for these projects. So, each year, the Board of Directors assesses the cooperative’s financial condition and determines if a “capital credit retirement” period is feasible. This year, the board approved a $4.5 million retirement, to be distributed to members in August. 

Capital credit retirements are the refund amounts members receive during this period. United Power establishes a capital credit account for every member, and uses it to record their investment. Each year funds remaining after expenses are allocated to these accounts. Upon board approval, a percentage of these funds may be retired. This year’s retirement represents the 12th consecutive year United Power has retired capital credits. 

Your capital credit amount is determined based on two factors: how much electricity you use and how long you’ve been a member. The longer you are a member and the more power you use, the larger your share of each retirement. 

“United Power has a commitment to providing reliable energy to our members, but we also prioritize doing so at an affordable rate,” said John Parker, United Power’s Chief Executive Officer. “While we talk a lot about the benefits we provide to our members both individually and in the community, receiving something you can hold in your hands is a meaningful benefit, and one that differentiates cooperatives from other utilities across the country.” 

This year, more than 80,000 checks will be issued to residential and business members. Anyone who had service in 2017 or earlier will be eligible for this year’s capital credit retirement. While many members will receive a check, anyone who is refunded an amount less than $10 will receive it as a credit on their bill. Look for this credit on your bill in August or September. 

United Power issues checks because it’s important for members to see the real benefit of membership, and handling a check achieves that goal. 

“We know some checks won’t pay the rent, but it does provide a little extra cash to tide someone over until their next paycheck,” said Parker. “For our larger users, like local businesses, municipalities, farms and school districts, these checks may have a substantial impact.”

Capital credit retirements have returned a steady stream of money back to members in recent years. During the past decade, United Power has been able to retire millions of dollars back to its members. 

Frequently asked questions about capital credits can be found online at www.unitedpower.com, or you can call a member services representative at 303-637-1300.

Important Reminders:

• If you move, please be sure to leave your new address with us so we can continue to refund any capital credits you are eligible to receive in the future. 
• Upon death, the deceased member's capital credit account is available for estate retirement. The representative of the estate should contact United Power to settle the capital credit account. 

In June, United Power proudly joined with local electric cooperatives from around the country to sponsor teenagers from small towns and cities to spend a week in the nation’s capital learning about the political process and interacting with their elected officials. The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has been a tradition among cooperatives since the late 1950s.

The origins of the Youth Tour date back to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s 1957 annual meeting in Chicago, where keynote speaker and future president Lyndon B. Johnson suggested sending youth to the capital to “actually see what the flag stands for and represents.” 

What began with a small group of 34 students from Iowa in 1958 has since ballooned to nearly 2,000 students from 42 states. To date, nearly 50,000 students have participated in the program.

This year, United Power sponsored three local students to represent the cooperative during the 2018 Youth Tour – Hannah Rockwell of Weld Central High School, Jordyn Saffy of Eagle Ridge Academy, and Megan Lewis of Frederick High School.

Between meetings with elected officials, learning the value of the cooperatives they represent and developing leadership skills, students were able to spend time touring some of Washington D.C.’s landmarks and memorials. Before flying out, Colorado students were also treated to a high-voltage safety demonstration at United Power’s headquarters in Brighton, Colo. 

Each year United Power selects three ambitious high school students to attend Youth Tour. Applications to represent the cooperative during next year’s tour will be available in December. 
 

It's Your Money, and Here's How it Works

Capital credits are just one of the ways United Power is different from other utilities. We’re different because we’re owned by you, our members. As we’re heading into our retirement cycle, here’s a brief synopsis of how capital credits work.

Step One: Membership

If you receive power from United Power, you are not just another customer. You are a member. Members have unique privileges, one of which is the principle of economic participation. A portion of each electric bill goes toward the cooperative’s operation and infrastructure, making you a part owner. 

Members may also vote annually in board elections or run for a board seat to make their voices heard. By actively engaging and participating with the cooperative, you will always have a voice in our operation. 

Step Two: Allocation

Every spring, United Power looks at the prior year and allots any funds remaining after all expenses are paid into a budget item called “patronage capital.” These designated funds are then “allocated” to members, based on the prior year’s electric consumption – the more power you use, the larger your allocation. 

The allocation is not a check, but a bookkeeping of the amount of money you have invested into the cooperative’s electric system based on your electric consumption. This allocation amount is reflected as an actual dollar amount on your bill in May each year. 

Step Three: Retirement

Every year our board decides if a capital credit “retirement” is feasible. If they decide to retire capital credits the money is paid out or “retired” from each member’s account, based on their past electric use and length of service. At United Power, anyone who receives a retirement of $10 or more receives a check, and any amount under $10 is returned as a credit on members’ bills.    

Look for more information about this year’s capital credit retirement in our August issue, and we’ll tell you how to enter to win a prize just for telling us how you’re going to use your capital credit refund!