Consider a Medical Device Backup Plan
Friday | March 20, 2020
United Power members who rely on medical devices in their homes may be more greatly impacted by extended outages, like the ones we experienced on Thursday.
Read more >
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Continued Growth and Innovation
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Friday | March 1, 2019
Card Teaser
This is the final piece in a three part series chronicling the cooperative’s history leading up to its 80th Annual Meeting this April.
In the years leading up to its 75th anniversary in 2013, United Power experienced unprecedented growth for an electric cooperative, more than doubling in size. The way the cooperative serves its members has changed with the development and advancement of technology available to both provide power for and communicate with its members. This is the final piece in a three part series chronicling the cooperative’s history leading up to its 80th Annual Meeting this April.
Following the addition of Brighton to the United Power family in 1993, the cooperative entered into a period of unprecedented growth. Since adding Brighton, United Power has grown more than five times in size, remaining one of the fastest growing cooperatives in the country over the past 25 years.
Much of United Power’s growth could be attributed to Denver’s continued northeast expansion. In the 1990s, construction on Denver International Airport was completed adjacent to the cooperative’s service territory and E-470 was extended into its southern quadrant. This provided greater access to the area, which offered affordable housing options and the opportunity to grow with the communities, mimicking the growth of Northglenn and Thornton years earlier.
Knowing it would serve new electrical loads from homes and businesses moving into the area, United Power pursued an active role with communities as they planned for future growth and planned infrastructure to support that growth.
As new residents flocked northeast to Brighton and its surrounding communities and north along the I-25 corridor, the cooperative outgrew the “typical” rural electric mold. The difference gave United Power new financial clout, allowing it to become the responsive utility the members and communities it served needed.
United Power constantly surveys technical innovations that can help better provide electric service that’s safe, reliable and cost-effective. The ongoing evolution of technology has created a cooperative that looks far different today than it did just a few years ago, and United Power has adopted a strategy placing it at the forefront of innovation among cooperatives across the country.
United Power has taken proactive steps to keep power flowing while providing members with the tools necessary to monitor and control their usage. Improvements to the cooperative’s infrastructure monitoring system, Supervisory Control and Data System (SCADA), provide more information related to outages and potential problems. The newly installed Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) allows members to view detailed information related to their usage trends and history through the Power Portal.
Over the past few years, United Power has also installed innovative renewable programs as the technology has become easier and cheaper to obtain and install. From powering the country’s first community solar field to the state’s largest battery storage facility, the promise of a more efficient and economical future sits on the back of the innovations in technology that have helped to move the cooperative forward.
Over the past 80 years, United Power has grown from a small rural electric cooperative serving just over 100 members to a progressive urban cooperative with more than 90,000 meters. It has overcome a competitive buyout bid from the state’s largest investor-owned electric utility, and set the bar for other cooperatives to follow as it adopts new and innovative technology. United Power is proud to celebrate 80 years of serving its members and providing safe and reliable power.
Cooperative Roadmap 2.0
Monday | February 24, 2025
Updated Roadmap is the collective vision to successfully deliver on cooperative's mission.
Read more >
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Crossing A Meter Milestone
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Tuesday | July 13, 2021
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United Power surpasses 100,000 meters, becoming the second in Colorado - and 31st nationwide - to reach the milestone.
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
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Cutting Into Supply Chain Delays
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Thursday | July 7, 2022
Card Teaser
With supply chain uncertainty, United Power purchased a new plasma cutter to bypass delays on essential parts and pieces.
Electric cooperatives rely on crucial materials to maintain the safety, reliability, and resiliency of their electric system. Supply chain delays are creating new challenges for most industries, but it’s been particularly difficult for electric utilities facing weeks-long delays on parts and materials necessary to ensure a properly functioning system.
“We’re experiencing six- to eight-week delays on standard maintenance materials, like mounts and brackets,” said Curtis Subia, United Power’s Vice President of Asset Management and Supply Chain. “It may be tempting to waive off something as small as a bracket if other materials are available, but without these brackets, projects come to a standstill. Even small pieces are absolutely essential to safely building our infrastructure.”
With uncertainty surrounding how long supply chain issues may persist, United Power purchased a new piece of equipment that will help the cooperative bypass delays and fabricate whole parts in-house without having to wait for backorders to be filled. A mechanized plasma cutter (pictured right) can precisely cut pieces out of sheet metal in just minutes. The pieces it produces are often ready for immediate use in the field.
“We could either wait weeks for orders to be delivered or we could figure out a timely way to make them ourselves,” said Subia. “We can’t shut down projects because the supply chain can’t keep up with demand, so we had to come up with a solution.”
United Power mechanics suggested the plasma cutter as an alternative. They have been fabricating parts for years when something is unavailable or if they need a custom piece. However, manual fabrication is slow, lacks precision, and is dangerous. The plasma cutter can be preprogrammed with almost any design and ready to use in just a few minutes. Once a design has been stored, the software can recall it again at any time. It’s a safer option for the mechanics and frees up their time to be spent on other projects.
“It can do things the human hand can’t do,” said Kevin Isham, a mechanic at United Power. “It can cut a piece over and over with precision and perfection in half the time it would take one of us to create a single piece. Having it makes our jobs quicker and safer.”
There’s no sign supply chain issues are coming to an end anytime soon. The plasma cutter represents another innovative solution United Power has adopted to meet the needs of the cooperative and its members in challenging circumstances.
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December Message from Mark A. Gabriel
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Monday | December 4, 2023
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Transitions in life, both personal and professional, always have interesting twists.
I lived the switch from conventional “hot type” typesetting to “cold type” primitive computers in my first career out of college as a newspaper reporter. The old way of making newspapers required placing individual letters — that were made of lead — into large, heavy frames in a reverse mirror image. The frames were then bolted onto giant printing machines where rolls of paper became the newspapers we read every day. The thunderous, dangerous, and noisy pressrooms gave way to an era of photo sensitive paper, waxed into big sheets, copied onto plastic and attached to the same giant printing machines. It was just the beginning of the change that would make everyone into a journalist — good and bad — with the ability to wirelessly send their stories anywhere in the world with the touch of a button. Unfortunately, it has sadly meant the demise of many printed newspapers.
The twists and turns and unintended consequences did not happen overnight. In fact, in the world of publishing, the death of local newspapers has been gradual over the decades, not a sudden crash and burn. This change has been a bit painful for those of us who still cherish the smell and feel of a Sunday morning newspaper. I have never been able to get used to the feeling of reading on an iPad; it does not give me the same warm memories as a paper rolling off the presses, making my fingers slightly dirty.
The energy transition has may parallels with newspapers that are rolling out over a quickening pace. The traditional “hot type” world of large power plants and massive transmission projects is giving way to smaller scale generation, power at the distribution system level, and thousands of households adding local resources.
United Power is working through the ins and outs of our transition to new power suppliers and a new way of operating. We are moving from a single large supplier to more than a dozen — managing our risk through system diversity. We are looking at new ways of operating our system and trying to keep as much hyper-localized and home grown resources as possible. The hyper-localized model, including significant amounts of energy storage, is going to be required as the time to build new transmission is coupled with the closure of major coal plants. This is not a political question but the reality of the marketplace matched with the changing face of regulatory environments.
Hyper-localized generation has significant benefits for our communities as it keeps tax dollars in our region, brings a higher level of reliability and control, and reduces the stress on the transmission grid at a time when more and more electrification is occurring. Our new fuel mix will dramatically reduce carbon intensity rates as we blend natural gas, renewables, and storage while also making the best use of the Board of Directors’ investments in the distribution system over the decades.
For United Power, the transition will occur in phases. Knowing our low tolerance for risk, we have constructed a portfolio that in the short-term mirrors much of what we have with our current supplier in terms of capacity — albeit slightly lower in cost than what we expect it to be in the next 24 months — with a significant change in the mix of energy. As capacity becomes less expensive and markets develop in the short time beyond that window (2026-2027), we will become experts in managing and operating our system with the new tools in place.
As one of my business school professors always mused, “The future is already here, it is just not widely distributed yet.” At United Power we are committed to this transition for the benefit of our members.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.
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December Message from Mark A. Gabriel
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Wednesday | December 1, 2021
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
During my first nine months here at United Power I have had the tremendous opportunity to experience “the cooperative difference” as we serve our rapidly growing base of members.
What is the cooperative difference? It is the way we are all member-owners of this great organization. It is the way we interact in serving your communities and it is the way we recognize the importance of supporting the United Power “family.” Many different types of organizations provide power, but cooperatives do it in unique fashion.
Here are just a few of my experiences since coming to United Power:
In November we commissioned a generator in Gilpin County that will provide the school system and emergency responders a reliable source of power should there be an extended outage. The school is at the end of a radial line in the rugged and beautiful community we serve in the mountains. This automated generator will kick in should power be curtailed in a storm or other challenging event. More importantly, this will offer the members of the community a place of refuge in times of crisis. Working with the Gilpin County School District and the Office of Emergency Management, United Power engineers and linemen made sure the system was up and running for this winter.
In support of the Metro North Lead Program, I had the chance to meet with the up-and-coming leaders from around our service territory and engage in a discussion about the history – and coming changes – in the electric industry. I had a similar opportunity to speak with the Weld County Board of County Commissioners. We had a lively engagement on the future of electric generation and transmission, as well as the impact of the growing natural gas and oil businesses.
Our crews are out every day making sure the system is strong and resilient. They are there, rain, snow or shine, understanding the critical nature of electricity. And, behind every one of them are the dispatchers, financial analysts, member service representatives, engineers and other employees working hard to keep rates low and reliability high. As we all know, these jobs are even more difficult as we continue to manage in a COVID workplace.
A number of members have reached out to me on a variety of topics, from electric vehicles to renewables and coal, with ideas for the system. I respond to each personally as working at United Power is more than just my vocation but is my avocation as well. I encourage you to contact me with questions, concerns and opinions at www.unitedpower.com/CEO.
The next few years will bring remarkable changes to the energy industry across the country. The cooperative difference means we have a special lens, asking not only what we can do to improve our system but how can we improve the lives of our members. The flexibility of the cooperative model means your input is solicited and valued. Your Board of Directors is a direct pipeline to our organization, and they represent you with passion.
During the next several months we will be having conversations across the communities we serve focused on our 10-Year Working Plan that lays out a vision and priorities for the coming decade. We want to ensure there is an aligned vision for the future as we take advantage of the technologies, societal changes and improved environmental footprint at United Power. We must welcome the changes our members require with open arms as electric vehicles, solar panels, battery storage and yet-to-be-determined technologies expand across our footprint. As a cooperative we are anxious to help our communities thrive and are driven to ensure an even brighter future.
Whether it is providing technical information, working with developers who are expanding housing and business opportunities to our local economy or partnering to bring efficiencies to industry, the cooperative difference is in our DNA. It is why we exist, what we strive for every day and how we live our values.
Decking the Halls Safely
Thursday | November 14, 2019
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with it the time to put up festive lights, both indoors and outdoors, to enjoy along with the holiday season.
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Demand & Summer Heat
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Monday | June 1, 2020
Card Teaser
With more people expected to work from home this summer, temperatures might not be the only thing rising.
Summer is just around the corner. Although the spring has given us brief reprieves from winter weather, soon the summer heat will arrive. With more people expected to work from home this summer, temperatures might not be the only thing rising.
Your air conditioning is one of the most demand intensive appliances in your home, accounting for more than 15 percent of your total energy usage. This means members will begin to see their demand charge rise to include the use of this additional appliance. However, when United Power introduced its demand rate in January 2019, it also lowered the cost of energy – which means two things for members.
Most members will not see a significant increase to their monthly bills despite January rate increases. With the decrease in cost of energy corresponding to the demand rate increase, bills should stay fairly level. The average increase for members on the standard residential rate when increases took effect was less than $2/month. Rate increases also gave members more control over their bills by allowing them to choose when to use appliances, keeping demand low and bills even lower. The graphic below demonstrates appliance stacking and how staggering their use can save on demand.
United Power has also provided tools to assist members in monitoring and controlling their energy usage. The Power Portal, for example, provides a custom dashboard detailing energy usage patterns and identifying peak demand allowing members to determine what behaviors are driving their demand. The cooperative also launched a new demand calculator this year to give members an idea of what appliances are consuming the most energy and contributing to demand charges. With air conditioning being a main culprit during the summer, United Power also offers a rebate on energy efficient A/C units.
The majority of summer energy efficiency tips revolve around creative ways to keep your home cool without overburdening your air conditioning. You can find some of these energy efficiency tips below.
Review the United Power website more information about demand and available rebates.
Summer Energy Efficiency Tips
Although summer is still a few weeks out, it’s never too early to start thinking about how to use energy more efficiently. Summer utility bills can be higher, but with a little preparation, you can see big savings on your summer energy usage.
Cross ventilate your home. Colorado’s mild climate makes cross ventilation a perfect way to cool your home without using excess energy. Cross ventilation uses wind moving through your home to cool it naturally rather than by using an appliance like your air conditioner. Simply open windows in the morning or evening to let the natural cool air in and turn off the A/C.
Block out the sun. Another way to keep your home cool and give your air conditioner a break is to close blinds or curtains. Open windows allow light in which warms the air causing the A/C to work harder to keep your home cool. Keeping blinds closed allows the air to warm more slowly.
Use ceiling fans. Ceiling fans allow you to increase the temperature on your air conditioning unit by up to four degrees without any loss in comfort. They should be turning counterclockwise during the summer. But remember to turn them off when you leave a room. Fans don’t actually cool the air in a room, just the people.
Use a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats learn your habits and can adjust your air conditioner accordingly. It also gives 24/7 access to your home’s heating and cooling.
Consider a Medical Device Backup Plan
Friday | March 20, 2020
United Power members who rely on medical devices in their homes may be more greatly impacted by extended outages, like the ones we experienced on Thursday.
Read more >
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Continued Growth and Innovation
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Friday | March 1, 2019
Card Teaser
This is the final piece in a three part series chronicling the cooperative’s history leading up to its 80th Annual Meeting this April.
In the years leading up to its 75th anniversary in 2013, United Power experienced unprecedented growth for an electric cooperative, more than doubling in size. The way the cooperative serves its members has changed with the development and advancement of technology available to both provide power for and communicate with its members. This is the final piece in a three part series chronicling the cooperative’s history leading up to its 80th Annual Meeting this April.
Following the addition of Brighton to the United Power family in 1993, the cooperative entered into a period of unprecedented growth. Since adding Brighton, United Power has grown more than five times in size, remaining one of the fastest growing cooperatives in the country over the past 25 years.
Much of United Power’s growth could be attributed to Denver’s continued northeast expansion. In the 1990s, construction on Denver International Airport was completed adjacent to the cooperative’s service territory and E-470 was extended into its southern quadrant. This provided greater access to the area, which offered affordable housing options and the opportunity to grow with the communities, mimicking the growth of Northglenn and Thornton years earlier.
Knowing it would serve new electrical loads from homes and businesses moving into the area, United Power pursued an active role with communities as they planned for future growth and planned infrastructure to support that growth.
As new residents flocked northeast to Brighton and its surrounding communities and north along the I-25 corridor, the cooperative outgrew the “typical” rural electric mold. The difference gave United Power new financial clout, allowing it to become the responsive utility the members and communities it served needed.
United Power constantly surveys technical innovations that can help better provide electric service that’s safe, reliable and cost-effective. The ongoing evolution of technology has created a cooperative that looks far different today than it did just a few years ago, and United Power has adopted a strategy placing it at the forefront of innovation among cooperatives across the country.
United Power has taken proactive steps to keep power flowing while providing members with the tools necessary to monitor and control their usage. Improvements to the cooperative’s infrastructure monitoring system, Supervisory Control and Data System (SCADA), provide more information related to outages and potential problems. The newly installed Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) allows members to view detailed information related to their usage trends and history through the Power Portal.
Over the past few years, United Power has also installed innovative renewable programs as the technology has become easier and cheaper to obtain and install. From powering the country’s first community solar field to the state’s largest battery storage facility, the promise of a more efficient and economical future sits on the back of the innovations in technology that have helped to move the cooperative forward.
Over the past 80 years, United Power has grown from a small rural electric cooperative serving just over 100 members to a progressive urban cooperative with more than 90,000 meters. It has overcome a competitive buyout bid from the state’s largest investor-owned electric utility, and set the bar for other cooperatives to follow as it adopts new and innovative technology. United Power is proud to celebrate 80 years of serving its members and providing safe and reliable power.
Cooperative Roadmap 2.0
Monday | February 24, 2025
Updated Roadmap is the collective vision to successfully deliver on cooperative's mission.
Read more >
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Crossing A Meter Milestone
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Tuesday | July 13, 2021
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United Power surpasses 100,000 meters, becoming the second in Colorado - and 31st nationwide - to reach the milestone.
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
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Cutting Into Supply Chain Delays
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Thursday | July 7, 2022
Card Teaser
With supply chain uncertainty, United Power purchased a new plasma cutter to bypass delays on essential parts and pieces.
Electric cooperatives rely on crucial materials to maintain the safety, reliability, and resiliency of their electric system. Supply chain delays are creating new challenges for most industries, but it’s been particularly difficult for electric utilities facing weeks-long delays on parts and materials necessary to ensure a properly functioning system.
“We’re experiencing six- to eight-week delays on standard maintenance materials, like mounts and brackets,” said Curtis Subia, United Power’s Vice President of Asset Management and Supply Chain. “It may be tempting to waive off something as small as a bracket if other materials are available, but without these brackets, projects come to a standstill. Even small pieces are absolutely essential to safely building our infrastructure.”
With uncertainty surrounding how long supply chain issues may persist, United Power purchased a new piece of equipment that will help the cooperative bypass delays and fabricate whole parts in-house without having to wait for backorders to be filled. A mechanized plasma cutter (pictured right) can precisely cut pieces out of sheet metal in just minutes. The pieces it produces are often ready for immediate use in the field.
“We could either wait weeks for orders to be delivered or we could figure out a timely way to make them ourselves,” said Subia. “We can’t shut down projects because the supply chain can’t keep up with demand, so we had to come up with a solution.”
United Power mechanics suggested the plasma cutter as an alternative. They have been fabricating parts for years when something is unavailable or if they need a custom piece. However, manual fabrication is slow, lacks precision, and is dangerous. The plasma cutter can be preprogrammed with almost any design and ready to use in just a few minutes. Once a design has been stored, the software can recall it again at any time. It’s a safer option for the mechanics and frees up their time to be spent on other projects.
“It can do things the human hand can’t do,” said Kevin Isham, a mechanic at United Power. “It can cut a piece over and over with precision and perfection in half the time it would take one of us to create a single piece. Having it makes our jobs quicker and safer.”
There’s no sign supply chain issues are coming to an end anytime soon. The plasma cutter represents another innovative solution United Power has adopted to meet the needs of the cooperative and its members in challenging circumstances.
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December Message from Mark A. Gabriel
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Monday | December 4, 2023
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Transitions in life, both personal and professional, always have interesting twists.
I lived the switch from conventional “hot type” typesetting to “cold type” primitive computers in my first career out of college as a newspaper reporter. The old way of making newspapers required placing individual letters — that were made of lead — into large, heavy frames in a reverse mirror image. The frames were then bolted onto giant printing machines where rolls of paper became the newspapers we read every day. The thunderous, dangerous, and noisy pressrooms gave way to an era of photo sensitive paper, waxed into big sheets, copied onto plastic and attached to the same giant printing machines. It was just the beginning of the change that would make everyone into a journalist — good and bad — with the ability to wirelessly send their stories anywhere in the world with the touch of a button. Unfortunately, it has sadly meant the demise of many printed newspapers.
The twists and turns and unintended consequences did not happen overnight. In fact, in the world of publishing, the death of local newspapers has been gradual over the decades, not a sudden crash and burn. This change has been a bit painful for those of us who still cherish the smell and feel of a Sunday morning newspaper. I have never been able to get used to the feeling of reading on an iPad; it does not give me the same warm memories as a paper rolling off the presses, making my fingers slightly dirty.
The energy transition has may parallels with newspapers that are rolling out over a quickening pace. The traditional “hot type” world of large power plants and massive transmission projects is giving way to smaller scale generation, power at the distribution system level, and thousands of households adding local resources.
United Power is working through the ins and outs of our transition to new power suppliers and a new way of operating. We are moving from a single large supplier to more than a dozen — managing our risk through system diversity. We are looking at new ways of operating our system and trying to keep as much hyper-localized and home grown resources as possible. The hyper-localized model, including significant amounts of energy storage, is going to be required as the time to build new transmission is coupled with the closure of major coal plants. This is not a political question but the reality of the marketplace matched with the changing face of regulatory environments.
Hyper-localized generation has significant benefits for our communities as it keeps tax dollars in our region, brings a higher level of reliability and control, and reduces the stress on the transmission grid at a time when more and more electrification is occurring. Our new fuel mix will dramatically reduce carbon intensity rates as we blend natural gas, renewables, and storage while also making the best use of the Board of Directors’ investments in the distribution system over the decades.
For United Power, the transition will occur in phases. Knowing our low tolerance for risk, we have constructed a portfolio that in the short-term mirrors much of what we have with our current supplier in terms of capacity — albeit slightly lower in cost than what we expect it to be in the next 24 months — with a significant change in the mix of energy. As capacity becomes less expensive and markets develop in the short time beyond that window (2026-2027), we will become experts in managing and operating our system with the new tools in place.
As one of my business school professors always mused, “The future is already here, it is just not widely distributed yet.” At United Power we are committed to this transition for the benefit of our members.
As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.
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December Message from Mark A. Gabriel
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Wednesday | December 1, 2021
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A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
During my first nine months here at United Power I have had the tremendous opportunity to experience “the cooperative difference” as we serve our rapidly growing base of members.
What is the cooperative difference? It is the way we are all member-owners of this great organization. It is the way we interact in serving your communities and it is the way we recognize the importance of supporting the United Power “family.” Many different types of organizations provide power, but cooperatives do it in unique fashion.
Here are just a few of my experiences since coming to United Power:
In November we commissioned a generator in Gilpin County that will provide the school system and emergency responders a reliable source of power should there be an extended outage. The school is at the end of a radial line in the rugged and beautiful community we serve in the mountains. This automated generator will kick in should power be curtailed in a storm or other challenging event. More importantly, this will offer the members of the community a place of refuge in times of crisis. Working with the Gilpin County School District and the Office of Emergency Management, United Power engineers and linemen made sure the system was up and running for this winter.
In support of the Metro North Lead Program, I had the chance to meet with the up-and-coming leaders from around our service territory and engage in a discussion about the history – and coming changes – in the electric industry. I had a similar opportunity to speak with the Weld County Board of County Commissioners. We had a lively engagement on the future of electric generation and transmission, as well as the impact of the growing natural gas and oil businesses.
Our crews are out every day making sure the system is strong and resilient. They are there, rain, snow or shine, understanding the critical nature of electricity. And, behind every one of them are the dispatchers, financial analysts, member service representatives, engineers and other employees working hard to keep rates low and reliability high. As we all know, these jobs are even more difficult as we continue to manage in a COVID workplace.
A number of members have reached out to me on a variety of topics, from electric vehicles to renewables and coal, with ideas for the system. I respond to each personally as working at United Power is more than just my vocation but is my avocation as well. I encourage you to contact me with questions, concerns and opinions at www.unitedpower.com/CEO.
The next few years will bring remarkable changes to the energy industry across the country. The cooperative difference means we have a special lens, asking not only what we can do to improve our system but how can we improve the lives of our members. The flexibility of the cooperative model means your input is solicited and valued. Your Board of Directors is a direct pipeline to our organization, and they represent you with passion.
During the next several months we will be having conversations across the communities we serve focused on our 10-Year Working Plan that lays out a vision and priorities for the coming decade. We want to ensure there is an aligned vision for the future as we take advantage of the technologies, societal changes and improved environmental footprint at United Power. We must welcome the changes our members require with open arms as electric vehicles, solar panels, battery storage and yet-to-be-determined technologies expand across our footprint. As a cooperative we are anxious to help our communities thrive and are driven to ensure an even brighter future.
Whether it is providing technical information, working with developers who are expanding housing and business opportunities to our local economy or partnering to bring efficiencies to industry, the cooperative difference is in our DNA. It is why we exist, what we strive for every day and how we live our values.
Decking the Halls Safely
Thursday | November 14, 2019
The holiday season is quickly approaching, and with it the time to put up festive lights, both indoors and outdoors, to enjoy along with the holiday season.
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Demand & Summer Heat
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Monday | June 1, 2020
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With more people expected to work from home this summer, temperatures might not be the only thing rising.
Summer is just around the corner. Although the spring has given us brief reprieves from winter weather, soon the summer heat will arrive. With more people expected to work from home this summer, temperatures might not be the only thing rising.
Your air conditioning is one of the most demand intensive appliances in your home, accounting for more than 15 percent of your total energy usage. This means members will begin to see their demand charge rise to include the use of this additional appliance. However, when United Power introduced its demand rate in January 2019, it also lowered the cost of energy – which means two things for members.
Most members will not see a significant increase to their monthly bills despite January rate increases. With the decrease in cost of energy corresponding to the demand rate increase, bills should stay fairly level. The average increase for members on the standard residential rate when increases took effect was less than $2/month. Rate increases also gave members more control over their bills by allowing them to choose when to use appliances, keeping demand low and bills even lower. The graphic below demonstrates appliance stacking and how staggering their use can save on demand.
United Power has also provided tools to assist members in monitoring and controlling their energy usage. The Power Portal, for example, provides a custom dashboard detailing energy usage patterns and identifying peak demand allowing members to determine what behaviors are driving their demand. The cooperative also launched a new demand calculator this year to give members an idea of what appliances are consuming the most energy and contributing to demand charges. With air conditioning being a main culprit during the summer, United Power also offers a rebate on energy efficient A/C units.
The majority of summer energy efficiency tips revolve around creative ways to keep your home cool without overburdening your air conditioning. You can find some of these energy efficiency tips below.
Review the United Power website more information about demand and available rebates.
Summer Energy Efficiency Tips
Although summer is still a few weeks out, it’s never too early to start thinking about how to use energy more efficiently. Summer utility bills can be higher, but with a little preparation, you can see big savings on your summer energy usage.
Cross ventilate your home. Colorado’s mild climate makes cross ventilation a perfect way to cool your home without using excess energy. Cross ventilation uses wind moving through your home to cool it naturally rather than by using an appliance like your air conditioner. Simply open windows in the morning or evening to let the natural cool air in and turn off the A/C.
Block out the sun. Another way to keep your home cool and give your air conditioner a break is to close blinds or curtains. Open windows allow light in which warms the air causing the A/C to work harder to keep your home cool. Keeping blinds closed allows the air to warm more slowly.
Use ceiling fans. Ceiling fans allow you to increase the temperature on your air conditioning unit by up to four degrees without any loss in comfort. They should be turning counterclockwise during the summer. But remember to turn them off when you leave a room. Fans don’t actually cool the air in a room, just the people.
Use a smart thermostat. Smart thermostats learn your habits and can adjust your air conditioner accordingly. It also gives 24/7 access to your home’s heating and cooling.
