The Roman poet Virgil famously wrote, “time flies, never to be recalled.” But I am not so sure. We can look back and see the road United Power has traveled, even before my arrival five years ago.

When I joined the cooperative in March of 2021, it was a very different time in many ways. Society was in the throes of a global pandemic and the economy was stalled due to uncertainty. And yet, the co-op was seeing some of the same conditions present today — continued growth in members and load, more variety in generation, more residential solar on homes, more electric vehicles on the roads, and the need for highly reliable electric service.

The need for electricity was never greater than when we were all working from home instead of the office. United Power, a summer peaking utility, hit a peak of 520 megawatts (MW) in 2021 and a winter peak just below 400 MW. Last July, we set a peak of 680 MW. Even a warm winter day can now exceed 420 MW. 

Our business model has also changed drastically. We had a single power supplier, and indirectly a single transmission provider, before our wholesale power supply contract exit in May 2024. Now we have 27 different power suppliers and three transmission providers. And critically, as required by Colorado law, we have dramatically reduced our carbon output with a blend of hydropower, renewable energy, battery storage, and natural gas.

The number of members we serve is increasing, too. We had not yet hit 100,000 meters when I joined the cooperative, but as of this January we now have more than 117,000. United Power is serving a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial members, as well as oil and gas sites, all of which are growing in number and load. We are looking forward to BNSF Railway and Bandimere Speedway moving into our territory and, like many cooperatives across the country, are preparing for the coming of data centers. We have also added millions of square feet of warehousing and other industrial infrastructure.

United Power is not growing in a vacuum. The rules under which we operate are changing. Discussions about bringing a regional transmission organization (RTO), commonly referred to as a market, to Colorado began in 2021. Now, this has become a reality. The cooperative will join the market in April. Participation in the RTO will not only help the 350,000 people we serve, but will also help nearly 2 million Coloradoans meet the state’s growing energy needs. It is critical that the legislation requiring all utilities to participate in the market by 2030 is enforced so that all residents receive the benefits. 

We have moved forward with creative and valuable technologies in the last five years, and we are acting on the vision outlined in Our Cooperative Roadmap, now on version 2.0. United Power is a leader in distributed battery storage and opened Mountain Peak Power, a new natural gas plant in Keenesburg, in a record 20 months. We added a new outage management system and are preparing to deploy a new distributed energy resource management system that is a key pillar to making our distribution system operator vision a reality.

These advances are built on a foundation the cooperative has established over its 87-year history of pioneering innovation and never being afraid to push the organization to new heights — advancing its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system in the late 1980s, energizing the state’s first community solar project in 2009, becoming an early adopter of advanced meters in 2012, and connecting its first battery storage system in 2018.

The Power of Local is at the heart of our actions here at United Power as we localize power options, system controls, and work with our communities.

I am proud of the team I lead at United Power. They have made these accomplishments and many others possible with the support of your tremendous Board of Directors, that has not shied away from the challenge of positioning United Power for today and the future.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments. 

Every utility person I have known for nearly three decades is concerned with the critical mission of safely keeping the lights on in the most cost-effective manner possible. It may not feel that way to the public sometimes, as we must deal with everything from weather and equipment shortages to critters getting into lines and vehicle accidents causing the power to go out.

The wild windstorms in mid-December were extreme, and the intensity of the winds unprecedented. However, we prepare for these severe weather events, and in so doing, ensuring the safety of our employees, our members, and our communities is our priority.  The lengthy outages that affected many United Power members during this windstorm were the result of the cooperative operating in protective mode for wildfire safety during the back-to-back windstorm events that impacted our mountain territory. In this operating mode, lines are placed in the most sensitive settings, and power is immediately shut off if anything is detected on the system. Before power can be safely restored, crews must complete physical inspections of all power lines and equipment. These inspections are critical for public safety and can take time — particularly when outages are widespread and restoration can be delayed when damage is found.

We know the loss of power means an interruption in our day-to-day routines and our ability to work or go to school. However, it is important also to understand that when a transmission provider opts to shut off power (public safety power shutoff) or when the transmission provider loses power due to a weather event (e.g., damage to lines), United Power’s members may also lose power. The cooperative operates a distribution system, which includes the wires to homes and businesses in our service territory, but United Power does not control the interstate and intrastate transmission lines carrying electricity from faraway places. This is one of the reasons we are focused on hyper-localizing our resources whenever we can to stay off the “big wires.” It is another reason why we have added so many distributed batteries to the system and plan to add more.

We cannot restore service to the local distribution system until transmission has been re-energized. It is important to realize that after outages occur due to storms, we must visually inspect every line on the distribution system. Our brave crews worked for several days to make sure trees were out of the wires. Sometimes our crews would inspect and restore power only to have new branches blown into lines after they had moved on. We must maintain a careful balance between restoring power to homes and businesses and mitigating the threat of wildfires.

We continue investing heavily into our distribution system, deploying the most practical and innovative technology we can. This involves installing coated cables in the mountain territory, and special fusing and sensors systemwide to be able to understand what is happening on our grid in real time. We can only see what is taking place on the distribution side of the United Power system. We do not have visibility to what is occurring on the transmission side — we only know whether power is flowing or not. 

The United Power system is one of the most reliable in the nation, and that is one of the reasons outages seem so out of the ordinary. When we do have “normal” outages, they are usually quite short, which makes extended outages seem even more unusual and frustrating to members.

I am so proud of the team at United Power for the work they did during the December wind event and continue to do every day to benefit our members. Our management team has spent time looking at what worked well, what did not work so well, and what we can do to improve when another event occurs. 

Every morning when I get up, the first thing I check is whether we kept the lights on for our members and if everyone is safe. Power outages will occur — that is the reality of the system dealing with nature. But we will always be here for our members, ready to get the lights back on.

As always, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments.

Understanding the Seven Principles that Guide United Power and Other Cooperatives

All cooperatives operate according to the same seven principles. These principles articulate the reasons cooperatives exist, which is for the good of their members, their communities, and one another.

1. Open & Voluntary Membership

Membership in a co-op is open to all people who can reasonably use its services and are willing to accept the responsibilities of membership.

United Power members include anyone who receives power on its lines within its defined service territory. 

2. Democratic Member Control

Co-ops are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.

United Power members elect the co-op’s 11-person Board of Directors. Directors serve four year terms and are elected at the Annual Meeting held in April. The Board is the policy making arm of the cooperative and acts on behalf of its members. 

3. Members’ Economic Participation

Members contribute equally to the capital of their co-op. At least part of that capital remains the common property of the co-op.

United Power members pay not just for the electricity they use, but also for the infrastructure required to distribute power and the resources necessary to maintain the system of poles, lines, and equipment. The cooperative’s rates are designed so that members share the burden relative to their demand on the system and so that no one pays for more than they use. 

4. Autonomy & Independence

Co-ops are autonomous organizations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control as well as their unique identity.

United Power operates as an independent electric utility, most evidently demonstrated by its recent power purchase agreements. 

5. Education, Training, & Information

Education and training for members, elected representatives, CEOs, and employees help them effectively contribute to the co-op’s development.

United Power’s Board members obtain and renew credentials that help them effectively govern the cooperative. Employees are also encouraged to attend continuing education and training conferences that better equip them to perform their jobs. 

6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Co-ops improve services, bolster local economies, and deal more effectively with social and community needs through cooperation in local, national, and regional structures.

United Power partners with other cooperatives and regional and national groups to advocate for policy that benefits electric cooperatives and their members. The co-op is a member of the Association of Large Distribution Cooperatives, where ideas and best practices are shared. 

7. Concern for Communities

Co-ops work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies supported by the membership.

United Power is an advocate for the communities it serves, both as an economic development partner and proud supporter of local events, fairs, festivals, and more.