United Power is pleased to announce the hiring of Susan Aldridge as the cooperative’s Director of Government Relations and Deputy General Counsel.

“Given her extensive background in land development and energy concerns, Susan will be a strong addition to our team,” stated Robin Z. Meidhof, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. “She brings a unique blend of experience and legal expertise that will help us as we work with our legislators locally and nationally to address key issues impacting United Power’s efforts to hyper-localize and meet the state’s clean energy mandates while ensuring we can serve our members reliable energy at affordable rates.”

Aldridge holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University and a Juris Doctor and Masters in Public Administration from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel for a local reclamation/construction company whose primary customers are oil and gas, solar, and various land development businesses. Her work history includes both private practice and in-house counsel roles in addition to handling regulatory and external affairs in the oil and gas industry, focusing on land use regulation, local government permitting, compliance, stakeholder relations, and social investment. She is an avid champion of children, serving as a board member for the Two Angels Foundation, whose mission is increasing recreational opportunities for children with physical disabilities and served several years on the board of Tennyson Center for Children.

“United Power has built a leadership team that complements the goals of the cooperative,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power CEO and President. “Our focus on what our members need is paramount, and listening to our local leaders and community partners is key to the cooperative’s continued success. Susan is a talented addition to our team and will help strengthen our advocacy efforts at the statehouse and beyond.”

NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO AMEND THE BYLAWS OF UNITED POWER, INC.

DATE OF NOTICE: September 6, 2024

NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS OF UNITED POWER, INC. 
500 COOPERATIVE WAY, BRIGHTON, COLORADO 80603.

The Board of Directors Proposes to amend the Bylaws of United Power, Inc. as follows:

• Establishes eligibility requirements for any director candidate to assure he/she is in good standing with the cooperative.
• Extending the required period of membership for eligible director candidates from two (2) years to three (3) years.
• Extending the required period for a prior cooperative employee, prior employee of a statewide association of electric cooperatives, an electric generation and transmission cooperative, material supply cooperative, financial cooperative, national electric cooperative, or other entity in which the electric cooperative is a member, or has been a member, or a close relative of a prior employee of the cooperative must wait before being eligible to serve as a director from three (3) years to ten (10) years.
• Defines the requirements a person representing a legal entity must meet to be eligible to be a candidate for a director. 

A complete redline of the proposed changes is available on the cooperative’s website at www.unitedpower.com, or members may obtain a hardcopy at any United Power office, or via mail by calling 303-637-1300 and requesting that a copy be mailed to them at the address on file with the cooperative.

Pursuant to Article 11, Section 8 of the Bylaws of United Power Inc., you are hereby notified that the Board of Directors of United Power, Inc. proposes to adopt the following amendment(s) to United Power’s bylaws at a meeting of the Board to be held on October 23, 2024, unless a written petition is filed at United Power’s headquarters before close of business on October 22, 2024, signed by 100 or more Members, protesting the proposed amendments. 

UNITED POWER, INC. By: /s/Stephen Whiteside, Secretary of the Board
 

Fall is rapidly upon us, and we have successfully managed our first summer as an independent electric cooperative. It has been a hot summer and despite naysayers, the amazingly dedicated women and men of United Power have led us through this significant transition.

United Power’s loads continue to grow. Combining new sources of power and innovative technology, we have managed the system in a new and exciting way. As of May 1, we immediately reduced our carbon intensity by 26%, all while setting new peak loads, month over month. Our investment in nearly 80 MW of battery energy storage systems paid for itself just two weeks after the official ribbon cutting in July. On Aug. 2, we hit an all-time historical peak of nearly 650 MW. The true load had we not deployed battery storage — and initiated demand response — would have been 719 MW! This is up from the 2023 peak of 634 MW. The batteries meant we were able to buy lower cost and lower carbon power at night and use it during peak hours from 4–8 p.m. instead of purchasing expensive fossil fuel alternatives.

There is tremendous value in having a diverse portfolio of generation and large-scale storage resources. As United Power members, you do not have to wait until the end of the decade for the energy transition, as other cooperatives are doing. We are living it now with a wide range of power suppliers — 26 at last count — bringing a lower carbon and more flexible energy supply. Hydropower, wind, solar, storage, and gas allow us to have a balanced energy portfolio.

An increasing number of our members are adding solar, storage, and electric vehicles to their lives, and we support these efforts, happily providing critical analytical tools to make sure these decisions are being made with the best and most neutral information possible. United Power fully supports an “all of the above” strategy whether we provide the resource or not. One of United Power’s critical goals, as outlined in Our Cooperative Roadmap, is to continually optimize our electric system enabling all technologies to operate seamlessly.  For help in these and other energy savings opportunities, click here.

In addition to the change in power suppliers, United Power is adding intelligence to how we operate and monitor the grid through advanced systems, including:

• A new outage management system, giving us visibility and insight into our operations,
• Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI),
• Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), the system our operators use to monitor real time performance,
• and a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS).

These tools are all part of our drive to become a Distribution System Operator as we prepare for the evolving energy enterprise. In recognition of our commitment to innovation, knowledge sharing, and moving the industry forward, United Power was just honored with the Survalent Industry Innovation Award.

I am particularly excited about several developments that support our members and critical community resources thanks to the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act and Empower Rural America (New ERA) Program.

• United Power has been awarded $700,000 to place batteries in four fire stations across the service territory to improve reliability.
• We will receive $6.4 million to supply Fort Lupton’s Water Treatment Facility with floating solar and storage.
• Golden Aluminum is receiving $22.5 million to convert some of their equipment from natural gas to electric power.

We are also in the final stages of seeking a large New ERA grant that can help in our transition to lower carbon resources.

All of these exciting changes happen thanks to the dedication of our employees and support from your Board of Directors. As always, I welcome your questions, comments and concerns.