Empire Electric Announces New Construction Estimator Tool

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.

crea-acquires-rmue-crea-jan-2023

CREA Acquires New Conference

CREA recently added a new event to its portfolio: the Rocky Mountain Utility Exchange. This conference, recently acquired from Ed Thomas and Tiger Adolf, has been an esteemed energy industry-related event in the Centennial State for 16 years and CREA promises to bring the highest quality speakers to the table in September 2023.

CREA will accept presenter applications soon. The agenda will explore best practices and lessons learned about initiatives related to energy (gas and electricity) efficiency, water conservation, strategy issues, and integration with renewable energy, flexible load management, strategic load growth, and other customer-facing initiatives.

Click here to learn more.

cfc-podcast-s2-e2-crea-jan-2023

CFC Podcast: Microgrid, Battery Storage Help Mitigate Severe Weather

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. 

innovations-housing-demo-dec-2022

GCEA’s Housing Demo Focuses on Efficiency, Cost-Savings

A new type of home is on the horizon that emphasizes energy efficiency and cost savings for both energy consumers and electric utilities. GCEA, with offices in Gunnison and Crested Butte, recently announced that it will be exhibiting one of these homes from VISION House Transcend to demonstrate to consumer-members the efficiency and technology capabilities homeowners can attain while also inhabiting a beautifully-designed domicile.

GCEA and its power supplier, Tri-State G&T, partnered with Green Builder Media and VISION House Transcend to bring this new demonstration project to the Gunnison area. Designed and constructed by California-based prefab builder Dvele, these homes are “unique in that they have been optimized for cost savings, waste reduction, quality control, and expedited construction timeframes.”

“We are excited to have a project like this in our service territory,” GCEA Member Relations Supervisor Alliy Sahagun said in a November 2022 press release. “It’s going to be an interesting way to share with members the capabilities of a highly energy efficient home, and we are eager to showcase all the technology the home will feature.”

Features of VISION House Transcend homes can include energy-efficient doors and windows, heat pump technology, solar panels and battery storage. GCEA will research and gather data from the demonstration project to construct educational materials to share with its consumer-members so they can visualize the ways they can help the environment and their pocketbooks.

Sahagun said, “We call this ‘beneficial electrification,’ and the VISION House Transcend will provide a wonderful demonstration of what BE looks like in real life.”

Electric Co-op Considers Solar Generation

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.

 

lake-fork-ev-chargers-crea-oct-2022

New EV Chargers Installed at Lake Fork Campground

An innovative partnership between Gunnison-based electric co-op GCEA, the National Park Service and Rivian broadened the electric vehicle charging infrastructure network in the Gunnison area in central Colorado.

In early October, a dual-port 11.5-kilowatt Rivian Waypoints Level 2 EV charger and a single port 62.5 kW ChargePoint DC fast-charger became operational at the Lake Fork Campground in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The chargers are officially open to charge all makes and models of EVs.

Grant funding from the Colorado Energy Office’s program, Charge Ahead Colorado, and contributions from Tri-State G&T, Gunnison County, Adopt a Charger, GCEA and Rivian made these chargers a reality. GCEA provided the necessary electrical upgrades required for the station while the National Park Service provided the site location.

Lake Fork Campground is an ideal location for these chargers due to its proximity to the three-phase power that’s needed to support the DC fast charger. And it is centrally located between Montrose and Gunnison to provide another point of charging support on the expanding system of EV chargers throughout the state. At the junction between Highways 50 and 92, these new stations will provide convenience for drivers traveling to multiple destinations along the Western Slope of Colorado.

“Over the last two years, Gunnison County has seen a 235% increase in the number of registered EVs. Having the necessary charging infrastructure in place is key in sustaining the growth of EV purchases,” GCEA Member Relations Supervisor Alliy Sahagun said in a recent press release. “The partnership between GCEA, Rivian and the National Park Service is paving the way for more EVs to have a place to charge.”

gvp-outage-data-crea-oct-2022

Grand Valley Power Analyst Revolutionizes Outage Data

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. 

grant for high-speed internet

Grant for High-Speed Internet

A Monte Vista-based electric cooperative was awarded a USDA Rural Development grant of nearly $2 million to deploy fiber internet to rural parts of the San Luis Valley in Colorado. San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative’s internet subsidiary, Ciello, will use the grant for high-speed internet and will connect 129 people, eight businesses, one public school and 20 farms to the essential technology. Ciello began providing high-speed fiber internet access to its rural service territory in 2014.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in recent press release, “Connectivity is critical to economic success in rural America,” and is vital to its growth and prosperity.

Several Colorado electric co-ops have internet subsidiaries, including Southeast Colorado Power Association’s SECOM, Delta-Montrose Electric’s Elevate and Yampa Valley Electric’s Luminate. Mountain View Electric in Limon is currently constructing its 5,800-mile fiber-to-the-home network in partnership with Conexon Connect. Typically, in all of these instances, the fiber internet infrastructure is built using the co-op’s current electrical infrastructure.

These innovative solutions and partnerships help connect rural Colorado and will provide reliable internet access to underserved communities. This is just another example showing how Colorado’s electric co-ops are leaders in innovation and are continuously finding ways to bring critical utility services to their rural communities.

Congratulations to SLVREC and Ciello for the $1.9 million grant for high-speed internet. CREA looks forward to sharing more about how this project brings innovation to rural Colorado communities and residents.

stop for new ev technology in Julesburg

Stop for New EV Technology

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.

Electric Co-op Pilot Program Benefits Time-of-Use Rates

Digital communication can often be sporadic and interrupted in Colorado’s rugged, mountainous high country. Gunnison-based electric co-op, GCEA, was concerned that interruptions in its digital communication with its advanced meters was affecting the accuracy of the readings.

Looking for solutions and verification of the data received from its advanced meters, GCEA ran an innovative pilot program last fall and winter. Called Peak Time Perks, the program tested GCEA’s Meter Data Management system. (The MDM system recognizes readings that are missing, flags them and runs estimations on the missing readings to fill in the correct data. The estimations are based on data industry-accepted validation processes established by the North American Energy Standards Board and the Edison Electric Institute.)

GCEA found that in actuality few communication outages prevented readings from reporting to co-op headquarters. And when outages did occur, the missing readings were estimated correctly by the MDM system.

All of this is important because co-op members who utilize the co-op’s time-of-use rate depend on accurate digital records as they control their usage to take advantage of lower rates at certain times. So, during the Peak Time Perks pilot program, GCEA also included a test of its time-of-use rate with members interested in seeing if the rate would provide them with actual savings on their electric bill.

The co-op and it participating members were pleased to see cost savings on the TOU rate compared to the standard residential rate.