Archive for category: Newsletters

Cortez-based Empire Electric Association recently revealed its new construction estimator tool to help streamline estimates as demand for new services in the area expands. This tool promises to improve work processes and lower operation costs that will be passed down to its consumers with faster service and more affordable rates.

EEA completed 216 new services in 2022, almost double the 10-year average of 114, and an increase of 73% from the latest three-year average. The demand for new services as well as normal maintenance and upgrade activity to maintain reliability has increased its engineering department’s workload.

In the past, EEA provided one free estimate for a member looking to add a new electric service. This was done by an engineering technician and typically involved travel to the site. In many cases, after receiving the estimate, the member did not proceed with the project. Resources spent estimating projects never built and the increasing demand for new services made the process a great candidate for improvement.

At the end of March 2023, EEA launched a new construction estimator tool. This tool allows members or their electricians to easily get a quote for providing service at a new location. The estimator tool is for single-phase services that will not need more than 75 kilovolt amperes (kVA) of capacity. Three-phase services or services requiring greater than 75 kVA of capacity are urged to still contact the EEA engineering department for an estimate.

The required input for the online tool is:
• The type of service the project will originate from: overhead, underground, or overhead to underground.
• The distance in feet from the existing EEA distribution system to the proposed meter location.
• The service capacity required in kVA. Capacity is dictated by electrical and building codes and the number and type of electric equipment or appliances at the new service.

Once these three values are entered, the tool will provide a cost estimate to build the new service. If the input values are correct, this will be the price the member will pay. If the estimate meets the member’s budget and they want to proceed, they will provide EEA with a load data sheet outlining the electric equipment and appliances that will be at the new service, a site plan showing site details and the proposed meter location, and an engineering deposit of $500 for residential services and $600 for commercial.

When EEA receives the required documentation and deposit, an engineering technician will meet with the member or their representative at the site to verify the plans and model input. Any necessary changes to the model input will be made at that time, and the formal project cost will be presented. If the member wishes to proceed at that time, they will pay the formal estimate minus the engineering deposit, and the service will be designed and then placed on the construction schedule. If the member does not wish to proceed, they will be refunded the deposit less costs incurred by EEA in providing the formal estimate.

The new construction estimator tool gives members an estimate to provide electric service to a property and allows them to evaluate different scenarios quickly and easily. It will also allow EEA to design and build services when members are ready to proceed, and at the same time reduce EEA costs to help keep all members’ rates affordable.

For more information, visit eea.coop/residential-and-commercial-new-construction-estimator-tool.

On Season 2, Episode 2 of the CFC Solutions Cast podcast, Fort Collins-based Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association‘s President and CEO Jeff Wadsworth, Energy Resources Specialist Tony Francone and Engineer Jeremy Eldridge share how PVREA uses its microgrid and battery storage system to lessen the impact of wildfires, winter storms and tornadoes on its electrical system, creating a more reliable system for its consumer-members. Listen now:

Click here to learn more about battery storage in Colorado electric cooperative territories. 

Leaders at San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative in Monte Vista and at Alamosa County began talks with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to share its eagerness to convert retired agricultural land to a renewable solar generation and transmission site.

Decades of drought and overpumping of groundwater have created swaths of vacant acreage, leaving the area vulnerable to natural disasters, such as the 2018 Spring Creek Fire and the 2021 Marshall Fire. A new solar generation and transmission site could be a significant asset for utilities to access power when natural disasters damage or destroy other existing electricity-generating infrastructure, leaders believe.

The PUC set a December 30 deadline to hear from members of the public who are interested in bringing this solar development to fruition, according to the Alamosa Citizen.

 

Grand Junction-based electric co-op Grand Valley Power utilizes an outage management system to track and log power outages on its distribution system. In 2021, the co-op’s System Average Interruption Duration Index was under 45 minutes. SAIDI measures the total number of minutes a consumer experienced a power outage over the course of a year. 

GVP started exploring the capabilities of data mining and mapping technology to continue the trend of keeping outages at a minimum. Geographic information systems analyst Ethan Schaecher found that there was a flaw in the software system when attempting to track outage causes, history, date, time and equipment affected across GVP’s service territory. When the outage ends, it disappears from the map and no location information is saved.  

Schaecher started looking through outage history records and found there was enough data to tie the outages back to GVP’s service map. Using data mining, Ethan re-plotted nearly 2,700 outages spanning 10 years. He mapped the outages as points on a map and also categorized the data into 12 different outage causes, such as trees. Taking this a step further, he then compared the cause of the outage to the time it occurred using a data clock.  

This innovative GIS and mapping methodology Schaecher developed helps GVP visualize patterns in time and space and will help solve complex outage problems and increase reliability to its members. 

Most drivers traveling to or from Denver through the northeastern plains of Colorado might approach exit 180 on Interstate 76 without much thought, but for electric vehicle drivers traveling the route, that’s about to change. Thanks to Highline Electric Association and its partnership with Tri-State Generation and Transmission and the Colorado Energy Office, the Wagon Wheel Conoco at exit 180 in Julesburg is home to the second-in-the-state single-phase DC fast charging station, making it an invaluable stop for new EV technology.

The FreeWire® Boost™ Charger 150 is located at an ideal place for EVs to hook up for a fast charge when driving along I-76 to or from Denver. The interchange is 180 miles from the Denver metro area and the placement couldn’t be more perfect, as the average range for most EVs is over 200 miles.

Highline Electric Association Manager of Member Services Tad Huser said this charger is designed for public use and this location on the interstate 76 corridor bridges the EV fast-charging gap between Fort Morgan, Colorado, and Ogallala, Nebraska.

Traditional EV fast chargers run on three-phase power, which can be a less common setup in rural areas due to the infrastructure demands and upgrades often needed to install a typical EV fast charger.

“The FreeWire Boost Charger technology enables public EV fast charging at gas stations, convenience stores and restaurants that run on single-phase power,” Huser stated.

Now for the specs: The Boost Charger 150 unit has an on-board 160-kilowatt-hour battery that can impart up to 150 kilowatts of power to a single user. If both charging heads are being used, the max power to each charging head is split and can charge at 75kW max each. Both charging heads are the CCS connector that is quickly becoming the international standard outside of Tesla’s proprietary connector.

The fees at the station are $0.25 per kWh and there is a parking/idle fee of $0.10 per minute after 30 minutes of idle (plugged-in) time to incentivize unplugging and moving along once charging is complete. The station has a credit card terminal where users can swipe to pay. Users may also scan a QR code on the unit that takes them to the EV Connect mobile app where they can pay via their phone as well. The next time you need to pull over for “fuel,” make this stop for new EV technology.