Cooperation Among Cooperatives Addresses Wildfire Mitigation

Seeking solutions to be proactive about wildfire prevention and mitigation strategies, San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative looked at Brighton-based United Power’s previous fire mitigation work. The electric co-op based in Monte Vista replaced three-phase line and 34 poles in parts of its service area with Hendrix Aerial Cable. United Power switched its power line to Hendrix Cable in its mountainous Coal Creek Canyon service area in September 2020 and invited SLVREC to review its projects.

Hendrix cable is an insulated conductor and provides a high level of protection in the event that a tree falls onto and makes contact with a power line. With the stronger, covered cable, the risk of wildfire caused by electrical equipment is drastically reduced. Hendrix cable also withstands severe weather events, helping prevent outages if the line is struck by a tree.

This innovative use of collaboration and infrastructure materials offer the benefits of wildfire prevention and improved reliability for co-op consumer-members. And it’s another example of an important cooperative principle at work: cooperation among cooperatives.

Southern Colorado Co-op Launches New EV Station

Durango-based electric cooperative, La Plata Electric Association, partnered with Purgatory Resort to install a new EV fast-charging station for public use. This new station is part of the Colorado Energy Office’s EV fast-charging corridor project and completes the charging corridor that runs through LPEA’s service territory.

To launch the station, LPEA and Purgatory Resort hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, September 1.

“We are thrilled to have completed our portion of the statewide EV fast-charging corridor, which will allow EV drivers to traverse Colorado, from corner to corner, without range anxiety,” LPEA CEO Jessica Matlock said in a news release.

Installed with funds from Colorado Energy Office and LPEA, the station is open 24 hours per day and costs 30 cents per kilowatt hour. An idle fee of 30 cents per minute is also charged when a vehicle is left plugged in longer than 10 minutes after charging is complete. Unlike standard level 2 EV chargers, which take 3 to 8 hours for a full charge, level 3 DC fast chargers take less than 30 minutes.