These days it is easy for national headlines and political turmoil to distract us from the prime directive of electric cooperatives like United Power, which is to safely keep the lights on in the most cost effective and sustainable way possible.

Every day and night the women and men of United Power are clearly focused on our mission. There is an old saying, loosely adopted by the U.S. Postal Service, from the translation of Herodotus’ Histories that says, “It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.” This is more appropriately the mantra of the people at United Power who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year in some of the most challenging weather conditions to ensure the lights stay on.

We have a tremendous team — from the dispatchers working around the clock to the crews who build the system to the engineers planning the system to the member services representatives answering your questions. Every one of our 200+ employees does their part. They are dedicated to your cooperative with the support of our visionary Board of Directors who spend countless hours guiding the execution of Our Cooperative Roadmap.

Federal funding cancellations affecting projects are indeed disappointing — and confusing as the entire industry faces challenges brought on by significant increases in electric demand. Our actions are focused on physics, not politics, and we will continue to make sure we have a diverse portfolio of hyper-localized resources, coupled with power from a variety of transmission-delivered electricity. 

We recently contracted for the Fortress Project, a 200 megawatt (MW) solar project supported by 150 MW of battery storage. Combined with our existing 119 MW of batteries, United Power leads the way in the West.

Data centers receive a lot of blame for increasing energy costs, but that is only a fraction of the pressure on rates. While there is a narrative that data centers support the artificial intelligence invading our lives, many of us believe requiring these companies to invest in upgrades and support of renewable energy mandates will actually help lower rates. United Power’s LIT (location, investment, and timing) process requires developers of large projects to pay for the costs of infrastructure. This process, once further utilized and refined, is expected to be a model for other utilities.

There are other realities we are facing. The inflationary pressures on equipment are dramatic. We see this in our everyday lives at the grocery store but certainly in the materials we need to purchase to keep the lights on. Over the past several years the cost of things as simple as a basic work truck have gone up more than 30%, steel and aluminum have increased significantly due to tariffs, and health care costs continue to climb beyond the rate of inflation. 

At United Power we have moved ahead on a new asset management system that will allow us to focus on replacing equipment at the right time, manage inventory more efficiently, and understand problems before they spread widely. Additionally, the partnership with all of you, our members, as we move toward becoming a distribution system operator (DSO) means we will be able to aggregate local generation in support of the market when it comes in April 2026.

We do have some additional challenges that must be addressed. The lack of transmission — which is exacerbated by local utilities trying to control the lines for their own benefit — is one of the critical issues we are attacking. Meeting the state’s 2030 emissions requirements is harder because of this situation, but I am confident in the great team at United Power and their ability to find a solution.

As always, please feel free to reach out with any comments or questions. It is my honor to serve as your President and CEO and to lead this team of amazing people.

Sending Aid to Power the Navajo Nation

Miles of vacant desert land often separate homesteads in the sparsely populated territory of the Navajo Nation. The summer months are a grueling combination of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and very little moisture. And many of the Nation’s people still endure the environment without access to electricity. 

The Light Up Navajo initiative was launched as a collaboration between the Navajo Tribal Utilities Authority (NTUA) and the American Public Power Association to bridge this gap in electrification. The initiative’s sixth project since 2019 aimed to power 175 homes in remote parts of the Nation this summer.

Four United Power lineworkers volunteered to participate in the summer project. They were dispatched to New Mexico for a week in July. The crew included Foreman Zach Reynolds, Journey Lineworkers Ted Pierce and Dillon Scroggins, and Apprentice Lineworker Isaiah Segoviano. 

“I did not know what to expect when I volunteered for this project,” said Reynolds. “It was a very humbling and eye-opening experience. It is crazy to think that we have the luxury of power every day, but we get upset and complain when the power goes out. Some of the Navajo people have lived more than 50 years without power.”

Reynolds and his crew would wake up as early as 5 a.m. to drive to the staging station before spending nearly an hour on the road to their work site. They spent the week setting poles and hanging line extensions under the hot sun. 

It was frequently a challenge to set poles because of the loose dirt embedded with small stones and rocks. Using traditional equipment to dig post holes was nearly impossible due to the conditions, and it was common for holes to collapse. 

The week ended with a larger project that included setting 40 poles to power a single residence on an isolated plot of land. Its occupants were the grandchildren of a former World War II code talker, a special unit of Marines who used their native Navajo language to create and transmit coded messages during the war. They were a crucial element in the victory. 

“He was a code talker and a prisoner of war,” said Reynolds. “He waited his whole life to see his home energized, but he sadly passed just before our project powered his home.” 

Reynolds said the NTUA emphasized meeting the families who received power.

“Meeting the families and hearing their testimonies was one of the most memorable experiences,” he said. “Until you see how they live, you don’t have any idea how impactful and life-changing this was for them.” 

United Power crews have volunteered to help with Light Up Navajo on three separate projects since July 2024. The cooperative will continue to support this initiative on future projects. 

Brighton, CO – United Power, Inc. today announced it has entered into an agreement with Aypa Power for the Fortress project, a hybrid renewable energy project that will combine 200 megawatts (MW) of solar with 150 MW / 600 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery energy storage near the City of Brush in Morgan County.
 
Scheduled to come online in 2027, Fortress will generate and store power for United Power members under a long-term power purchase agreement. The project supports the cooperative’s ongoing efforts to strengthen grid reliability and manage long-term power supply costs through a more diverse and locally sourced energy portfolio.
 
“United Power continues on a path to diversify and localize the power we purchase and deliver to our members,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power President and CEO. “We are investing in local projects that create a more robust generation system, which, in turn, will help us stabilize electric costs while investing in area economies. As the country grapples with the rising price of electricity, the cooperative is actively managing costs and seeking additional local generation resources. We believe our vision of a hyperlocalized electric system is the future of power production and it is an investment that will benefit all our members.”
 
Since leaving its former wholesale power provider in May of 2024, United Power has continued to invest in a portfolio of locally produced power sources, including several renewable energy and battery storage projects. Projects like Fortress represent significant investments in the state, helping ensure tax revenue and job creation benefit the communities United Power serves, while supporting a more resilient and member-focused energy network.

“Aypa Power is pleased to partner with United Power to bring the first phase of a 600 MW solar and battery storage complex online in Colorado,” said Dan Santelli, Chief Commercial Operator at Aypa Power. “Fortress will deliver low-cost energy and provide critical reliability, while supporting United Power’s commitment to dependable and locally sourced power.”

To learn more about United Power’s energy transition and its power portfolio, visit the cooperative’s website at www.unitedpower.com. 

About United Power

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, delivering electricity to homes, farms, and businesses throughout Colorado’s northern front range. The cooperative is one of the fastest-growing electric co-ops in the nation, serving more than 115,000 meters. Its 900-square mile service territory extends from the mountains of Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyon, along the I-25 corridor and Carbon Valley region, to the farmlands of Brighton, Hudson, and Keenesburg. For more information about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram

About Aypa Power

Aypa Power, a Blackstone portfolio company, develops, owns, and operates utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects across North America. With 30 projects currently in operation or under construction, and a development pipeline exceeding 22 gigawatts, Aypa delivers solutions that strengthen grid reliability, integrate renewable energy, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Aypa has been at the forefront of energy storage development since its first energy storage project came online in 2018. For more information, follow Aypa Power on LinkedIn or visit www.aypapower.com.

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There has been a lot of talk recently about “saving” certain forms of electric generation, stopping other types, and investing significant resources in technologies that are not ready for prime time. There have also been announcements about building thousands of miles of new transmission line.

When it comes to choices in generation, “all of the above” really needs to be “ALL of the above” if we are going to support electrification across the West and certainly for United Power. 

We recognize that diversity of resources is key to effectively running the cooperative, and we are taking action to ensure a safe, reliable, and affordable electric supply.

United Power partnered with Kindle Energy to open Mountain Peak Power in July. It is the newest and most efficient natural gas plant in Colorado. The 162 MW facility in Weld County provides critical electric capacity and is conveniently located near one of our substations that also has an 11 MW battery energy storage system. This project is a great example of our hyper-localization strategy and highlights the vision we laid out in Our Cooperative Roadmap. The plant was permitted in 10 months and constructed in 10 months. The same project today would take at least four years to obtain the needed equipment at 50% greater cost. 

We are also in the final stages of negotiations for an additional 200 MW of solar, bolstered by 150 MW of battery storage, to replace other expiring thermal generation contracts. These will come online in 2027. The solar facility will be among the largest in Colorado, increasing the carbon-free generation resources in our portfolio to nearly 64% and representing a continued reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since leaving our former wholesale power supplier in May 2024. 

The cooperative pioneered the use of distributed batteries with 115 MW spread across our system at nine substations, ranging in size up to 33 MW. Our engineering team has developed a unique way to automatically manage how we charge and deploy stored energy. These batteries are not only utilized to store energy but also provide critical contingency reserves that save United Power approximately $300,000 per month. 

Recently, United Power joined forces with three other public power utilities — CORE Electric Cooperative, Platte River Power Authority, and Colorado Springs Utilities — to explore creating a regional transmission project, nicknamed Lariat Loop, that will better serve their member-customers. This collaboration aims to reduce electric transmission congestion, enhance system reliability, and expand access to renewable energy sources, all while supporting the State of Colorado’s ambitions carbon reduction goals. 

Our members are directly involved in the “all of the above” electricity strategy. There are nearly 13,000 solar rooftops in our service territory. We will have a new distributed energy resource management system available in January that will allow additional interaction with our members’ resources such as thermostats and electric vehicles. We are rapidly moving to expand our distribution system operations plan, allowing resources from our larger members, such as oil and gas, to be bid into the Southwest Power Pool market coming in April 2026. 

The bottom line is quite simple. While we support expanding transmission and investing in future technologies, and applaud efforts to bring a wide range of generation to the West, we must be realistic about what can be done today to support our growing member base. United Power lives the “all of the above” mantra every day. We buy wind. We buy solar. We buy natural gas. We buy hydropower. And yes, at times we even buy coal. Our focus remains on providing the most reliable and responsible resources we can in our commitment to you, our members.

As always, please feel free to reach out with your questions, comments, or concerns. I enjoy hearing from you and appreciate your continued support.