Archive for category: Energy Innovations Newsletter

Colorado’s electric cooperatives, including their power suppliers, are in emergency mode, protecting critical personnel and making sure the lights stay on for consumer-members across the state during the current coronavirus pandemic.

The state’s 22 electric cooperatives provide electricity to an estimated 1.75 million Coloradans living and working in all four corners of the state. Serving consumer-members along the edges of the Front Range populations areas, as well as those who live down quiet country roads, the co-ops serve 70% of the state’s landmass. Co-op employees, including the CEOs and managers, the lineworkers and the office personnel, all understand how critical the electricity they provide is getting to everyone through the current situation.

The co-ops are doing everything they can to make sure your electricity stays on and CREA, the statewide trade association for the co-ops, is working to support the co-ops in these efforts.

Keeping personnel safe
Personnel at your electric co-op are meeting regularly to assess the situation as closures, restrictions and the status of the virus change. Protocols are in place to make sure that the staff, particularly the critical staff, including lineworkers and control room operators, are healthy and following procedures to maintain their health. Your co-op is also in contact with the other co-ops around the state and has made plans for assistance in case there is a need.

Co-op employees are the ones who will make sure the lights stay on. With that in mind, each co-op has established protocols that are appropriate for the community they serve. Some, especially those serving the ski resort communities where early cases of COVID-19 were reported, immediately closed their facilities to public access. Other co-ops quickly followed to lessen the chances of staff contracting the virus.

Co-op office lobbies have been closed to the public; employees who can are working from home. No outside travel is allowed. Meetings are conducted over the phone or internet.

However, none of that means that co-op services for consumer-members has stopped. Member services representatives are still available to answer questions and resolve problems over the phone. Drop boxes are available for member payments.

The Colorado electric co-ops that utilize upgraded digital meters also have account information online for consumer-members that is available through the SmartHub app or website link. The app allows consumers-members to view their usage and connect with auto-pay services.

Information is updated regularly on each co-op’s website and Facebook page. Some co-ops also offer information through Twitter and Instagram.

Check with your local electric cooperative about newly implemented procedures designed to keep you as a consumer-member and staff members at the co-op safe and healthy.

Sharing information
The co-ops are also benefiting from their connection to other co-ops across the country. Weekly phone calls with co-ops in other states and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association allow Colorado’s co-ops to learn from others, discuss ways to keep employees safe and share alternate ways to provide specific services to consumer-members.

Colorado’s electric cooperatives are committed to maintaining reliable electric service for all of their consumer-members during this crisis and will do everything in their power to serve their communities.

Thanks in part to Granby-based electric cooperative, Mountain Parks Electric, West Grand School District plans to add an electric school bus to its fleet to be used on daily routes. In addition to its excellent torque and eco-friendly attributes, perhaps the best thing about the 78-passenger Bluebird All American with a 120-mile range is that the district will acquire the bus at zero cost. That’s because it is being entirely funded by a state grant and contributions from its local and regional electric providers. WGSD expects to receive its new bus — the first electric bus in Grand County — in August, just in time for use on daily routes for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We really appreciate everyone’s help on this project,” said WGSD Superintendent Darrin Peppard, “especially Mountain Parks Electric, for encouraging us to apply for the state grant and for providing additional financial support.”

In late December, the Colorado’s Regional Air Quality announced its grant award of more than $250,000 to West Grand School District. The grant was open to all public, private and nonprofit fleets statewide, earmarked specifically for the replacement of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including buses. RAQC awarded a total of 20 grants in this cycle.

The remaining funds needed to purchase WGSD’s school bus came Mountain Parks Electric a not-for-profit electric cooperative headquartered in Granby, Colorado, which contributed a portion of its members’ unclaimed patronage capital from years past, and from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, MPE’s power provider. “We are thrilled to see the school district go electric,” said Mountain Parks Electric General Manager Mark Johnston. “Mountain Parks Electric’s power supply is becoming increasingly renewable. And one of the best ways to put that renewable energy to work is to replace fossil fuels with electric alternatives, like this school bus.”

MORE INFO on Bluebird electric buses: https://www.blue-bird.com/electric.

Glenwood Springs-based electric cooperative Holy Cross Energy celebrated two new solar arrays at its headquarters with a ribbon cutting ceremony in January.

The two arrays will help the co-op offset the energy use and carbon emissions associated with its office operations. Together, the solar arrays offset about 44% of current electricity consumption on HCE’s Glenwood Springs campus.

One of the solar arrays is innovative in that the 554 solar panels are not permanently affixed to the ground. The unique solar panel racking system, made by Powerfield, can be disassembled and redeployed in a different location using the same parts and materials.

The second solar array installed is a traditional rooftop design. The 268 panels operate at a higher wattage than previous panels, making them more efficient overall.

The cooperative is also slated to complete a third solar array later this year.

Colorado’s electric co-ops utilize important technology to read meters, report outages and help consumer-members keep track of their energy usage. One tool some Colorado co-ops use for these purposes is SmartHub. This mobile app provides features that help consumers manage their accounts, see billing and payment information and detailed usage analysis.

SmartHub recently went through an upgrade, which still allows for the consumer to see analytics and billing details, but it has a new look and several new features, including outage and billing alerts on the home screen. This use of technology and a smartphone app is an innovative way co-ops can connect with their consumer-members.

From rebates and EV chargers to solar projects and industry awards, 2019 was an impressive year of innovation at Colorado’s electric cooperatives.

Many co-ops, including San Isabel Electric and Mountain Parks Electric, gave local community businesses tens of thousands of dollars of rebates for everything from lighting upgrades to heat pumps. Mountain View Electric Association, based in Limon, gave away six whole-home LED updates to consumer-member residences across its service territory.

New EV charging stations were installed in White River Electric and Yampa Valley Electric Association’s territories thanks to Charge Ahead Colorado grants. San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative added an EV charger at its headquarters in Monte Vista as part of the services it offers.

KC Electric Association in Hugo announced it has three wind farms coming in its service territory on the eastern plains, expected to be in service by the end of 2020.

Tri-State announced its Spanish Peaks Solar project, to be located in southern Colorado. It is expected to be completed in 2023. Tri-State also announced its responsible energy plan in pursuit of a cleaner and lower-cost resource portfolio.

In 2019, Brighton-based United Power celebrated 10 years of community solar. Sangre de Cristo Electric held its first community solar project ribbon cutting at Trout Creek Solar. This solar site sits on Colorado corrections facility land in Buena Vista. Holy Cross Energy is also repurposing land for the co-op’s new Woody Creek Solar farm, to be built on land owned by the Aspen Consolidated Sanitation District. And San Luis Valley REC took loads of supplies on horseback to build a new solar site atop Turret Peak.

United Power earned a place on a top 10 utility industry list for its battery storage system and White River Electric Association’s Piceance Creek Solar was named the 2019 Utility Scale Project of the Year.

To read more about these innovative projects, stay tuned to this Energy Innovations webpage.