United Power’s offices will be closed on Monday, May 29 in observance of Memorial Day. Members may access account information and make payments online through SmartHub web portal or mobile app. Our operations team remains on-call 24/7 in the event of an outage or emergency. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 30.

We express our gratitude to all military personnel for their supreme sacrifices on this Memorial Day.

Retirement of $4.5 Million on its way to Members Beginning in Late May

United Power is more than your local electric utility and you are more than a consumer. You have probably heard there are benefits to cooperative membership. The decisions we make are not to satisfy investors or generate profits, but to serve our members and our communities, ensuring our system is well maintained and delivers reliable power. It is just part of what makes cooperative membership different. 

Another member benefit that sets us apart is the retirement of capital credits. This year, our members will be part of United Power’s 17th consecutive retirement. If you are unfamiliar with this process, capital credits represent your investment in the co-op.

Becoming a Member

The moment you start receiving electric service from United Power, you become a member and an owner of the cooperative. As a member, you have unique privileges, one of which is economic participation. A portion of each electric bill you pay goes toward the cooperative’s operation and infrastructure, which represents your ownership stake. 

Members may also vote annually in the Director Elections or run for a seat on the Board to make their voices heard. By actively engaging and participating with the cooperative, you will always have a voice in our operation. 

Allocation of Capital Credits

Every spring, United Power looks at the prior year and any funds remaining after all expenses have been paid are allocated to members based on the prior year’s electric consumption — generally the more power you use, the larger your allocation will be. 
The allocation is not a check, but a bookkeeping of your ownership in the cooperative, i.e., the amount of money you invested into the electric system based on your electric consumption the past year. The funds are tracked, but not accessible in the form of cash until they are retired. You are notified of your allocation amount on your bill in May or June each year. 

Retirement of Capital Credits

Annually, the Board of Directors assesses the financial condition of the cooperative and determines what amount of capital credits are eligible for retirement. If the Board decides a retirement is feasible, the money is paid out, or “retired,” from each member’s account. The Board approved a $4.5 million retirement this year. Those retirements will be distributed beginning in late May. 

Anyone who had service in 2021 or earlier will be eligible to receive a refund. Refunds more than $50 will arrive as a check, and members who receive a refund less than $50 will see it reflected on their billing statement as a credit. Look for this credit on your bill in May or June. 

“There isn’t a more tangible benefit of cooperative membership than receiving money back on your investment in the utility itself,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Your investment not only makes you an owner, but helps ensure the resiliency of our system, the reliability of your power, and the affordability of our rates. It is a tangible representation of your value as both a member and an owner.” 

Capital credit retirements have returned a steady stream of money back to members in recent years. During the last 17 years, the cooperative has been able to retire millions of dollars back to its members. 

Want to learn more about capital credits? Frequently asked questions can be found at www.unitedpower.com or you can call a member services representative at 303-637-1300. 

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

• If you move, please be sure to leave your new address with us so we can continue to refund any capital credits you are eligible to receive in the future. 

• Upon death, the deceased member’s capital credit account is available for estate retirement. The representative of the estate should contact United Power to settle the capital credit account. 

My old boss used to have a saying, “Predicting rain is one thing, building the ark is another.” I am proud to say that your cooperative, with support from the Board of Directors, developed and is following Our Cooperative Roadmap — the ark for success now and into the future. This journey will continue the evolution of the electric business as we work to meet the needs of you, our members, wherever you are. 

There continues to be a lot of talk about the energy transition — how the future will look, the challenges of changing power suppliers, and the issues with more people and businesses seeking alternative generation sources. Many of these conversations in the industry revolve around concerns for reliability, resilience, and of course affordability, three watchwords for all of us operating your cooperative.

A distribution cooperative like United Power stands at the crossroads of a changing energy industry. It needs to transition from a simple distribution operator to managing a system that is agnostic to inputs and flexible enough to handle both centralized power and local generation. Very few central power stations are being built today, more fossil fuel generation facilities are closing, and transmission projects lag needs. A distribution system operator (DSO) will be counted on to manage a more complex, yet interlocked, system. This will empower you as members and monetize investments in a shared energy economy.

We are focused on staying closely tied to the economic drivers of the communities we serve to bring tax dollars, revenue, and well-paying job opportunities. We must be good stewards of our resources and build on the solid partnerships with our local businesses. I am proud to say that these partnerships are the cornerstone of the cooperative business model. 

Providing high quality and reliable service is crucial because businesses matter. We are restructuring some staff to focus on business and community partnerships — our key accounts. This will allow us to be more responsive, anticipate needs in areas such as power quality, and leverage available grant dollars and tax incentives. Another benefit in controlling our power supply will allow us to craft rates that work for these members.

As a member-owned cooperative, the concept of “meeting you where you are,” aligns with our goal of delivering mutual value. It has the added benefit of keeping investments in the communities we serve while ensuring the reliability and resiliency required in today’s environment. The quiet transition to localized grids, combined with the advancements in management tools and software, returns to continue the electricity enterprises’ original intent of bringing light, motive power, and comfort to the communities being served.

Our Cooperative Roadmap makes sure we are invested in the technological changes our members are navigating in our industry. More members want to self-generate or make energy efficient upgrades to their homes. Others are investing in technologies that will change the way we interface with members. United Power must continue supporting technologies that reduce costs for all members. Programs such as United EV, Smart Rewards for thermostats, energy efficiency rebates, and solar interconnections give members control over how they use power. We are here to support members who want to produce their own power and provide financial incentives that align with our goals of affordability and system control. These programs are aimed at sharing savings with our members when they participate in programs that can reduce our costs.

What does this mean in practice? United Power provides the people and tools to help members make decisions about their own energy use, power generation, use of technologies, and safe integration of batteries and solar panels. It means we are continuously scanning the horizon to make sure our distribution system is ready for tomorrow and safe for today.

We are not just predicting the rain of change but building the ark to ensure we sail into this bright new future.