Brighton, CO – On March 24, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Tenth Circuit) issued an opinion upholding multiple Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders dating back to December 2023 that adopted an exit-fee methodology for distribution cooperative members wishing to exit their all-requirements power supply contracts with Tri-State Generation & Transmission (Tri-State).   

Litigation over the exit process and the fee under Tri-State’s Rate Schedule No. 281 has taken United Power and several other former Tri-State members on an odyssey to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Colorado state court, more than six years of proceedings at FERC, a review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and finally the Tenth Circuit where the judges heard four separate appeals of FERC’s orders. 

In denying Tri-State’s multiple petitions, the Tenth Circuit held “we have no doubt that FERC sufficiently weighed competing views on the best approach to the exit-fee methodology. In a 200-plus page order, FERC assiduously weighed the proposed exit-fee methodologies and the parties’ competing views. It then reweighed the methodologies and competing views on rehearing.” Moreover, the Tenth Circuit noted that “it would be inappropriate for the [exit-fee] payment to shield Tri-State from its other business risks.”  

United Power has always recognized that it would have to pay an exit fee, but it has sought a fair, transparent process, and a just and reasonable methodology for establishing the amount. The cooperative’s Chief Legal Officer Robin Meidhof notes that “Tri-State’s insistence that United Power pay $1.6 billion was never reasonable and the Tenth Circuit opinion affirmed that ‘record evidence supported a balance sheet approach’ adopted by FERC.” Pursuant to FERC’s orders, Tri-State ultimately received $627.2 million from United Power, but $296.3 million of that amount was a credit for transmission service for the next 40 years. 

The Tenth Circuit opinion explained that due to the technical understanding and policy judgment required to determine the exit-fee methodology, “FERC, not this or any other court, regulates electricity rates.” Meidhof shared, “We hope this decision brings closure for Tri-State and the guidance that all its members have been seeking for far too many years. At a time when all utilities are working to address challenges and increasing costs to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to their members/customers, we want to be collaborating with Tri-State, not continuing to litigate a matter that should have been resolved years ago.” 

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 117,000 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.

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Electronic Balloting Now Open; Paper Ballots Mailed March 13

Brighton, CO – Balloting in United Power’s 2026 Director Election is open. Members of the cooperative have the option to cast their ballots electronically through their online account or via paper ballot, mailed to members on March 13. Electronic and mail ballots must be received by 11:59 a.m. on April 14. Members may also vote in person at the cooperative’s Annual Meeting on April 15, where votes will be cast using a streamlined digital voting system.

United Power encourages all members to cast their votes in the annual Director Election. Voting allows members to have a voice in their board representation and helps the cooperative better serve its members. Members may return their mail ballot via the postage-paid envelope included in the ballot packet, or they can log into their online account to cast an electronic ballot. Members voting online can access the ballot by clicking the “Vote Now” button.

This year, one seat is up for election in each of United Power’s four director districts, and six candidates are running for election. The director candidates are Phil Tiffany and Virginia A. “Ginny” Buczek (incumbent) in the North District; Vicki Erickson and Lisa Hough in the Central District; Steven Douglas (incumbent) in the South District; and Tamra K. Waltemath (incumbent) in the Mountain District. Candidate statements are available online. 

Proposed amendments to the cooperative’s Articles of Incorporation will also appear on the ballot for approval by the membership. These amendments will ensure the articles are clear, transparent, and consistent with current state laws and the co-op’s bylaws. Specifically, the proposed amendments remove duplicative and outdated language and add clarifying language where necessary. The proposed amendments can be viewed in full online.

Directors represent all members and are elected on an “at-large” basis to four-year terms. This means members may cast a vote for a director in each district and not just their own. Directors serve in geographic districts to ensure equitable representation of United Power’s member base in the cooperative’s governing body.

Director Election results will be announced at the 2026 Annual Meeting, held at the Riverdale Regional Park & Fairgrounds in Brighton on April 15. Registration for the meeting opens at 4:30 p.m. and balloting closes at the beginning of the official business meeting at 6:30 p.m. A livestream of the meeting will be hosted on the cooperative’s website at www.unitedpower.com/annual-meeting. 

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 117,000 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.

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Lineworkers Spent Days Clearing Lines Following Storms on Dec. 17 & 19

United Power members experienced Colorado’s ferocious weather in December when strong windstorms struck the northern Front Range twice in one week. Members who live in the cooperative’s mountain territory received the brunt of the storms, with gusts reaching more than 110 miles per hour near the foothills, according to data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. 

Weather forecasting provided advance notice about the potential for heavy and sustained winds and, due to an exceedingly dry season, prompted the National Weather Service to issue its first-ever “Particularly Dangerous Situation” Red Flag Warning (for extremely critical fire weather conditions) for the state of Colorado. Xcel Energy, a transmission provider to parts of United Power’s system, responded by preemptively scheduling public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) in the foothills between Golden and Boulder.

Although United Power did not initiate any power shutoffs and was not impacted by Xcel’s PSPS, both utilities activated system-wide wildfire safety measures. This included placing any power lines in the immediate area into Wildfire Safety Mode, which is a setting that stops the flow of power whenever a fault is detected and prevents automated devices from attempting re-energization. A manual inspection is required to ensure the line is clear of debris and the infrastructure is not damaged before power restoration can begin. Shortly after winds peaked, United Power lost transmission from the Xcel line that delivers power to the cooperative’s members in the Coal Creek and Golden Gate canyons. It was the first in a series of events that launched line crews into a dayslong effort to clear debris from miles of line and restore power to thousands of families. 

“Heavy wind is an enemy to even the most resilient power grids because it forces us to circumvent all our built-in automation and system redundancies for the safety of our members,” said Adam Dillon, United Power’s Vice President of Operations. “And it prolongs outage recovery because we cannot restore power without visually inspecting every mile of line, much of which needed to be cleared of debris from the storms.”

Aftermath of the Storms

As the sun faded on Dec. 17, and the first round of storms had passed through the area, all members in the mountain territory were without power and the extent of the damage was unknown. The lack of visibility without light made assessments difficult and unsafe to conduct, forcing crews to wait until first light to begin working on power restoration. Upon inspection, lineworkers found downed trees and power lines, broken poles, and a variety of other damage.

Once the transmission line providing power to the mountains was re-energized, it finally gave United Power the opportunity to test parts of its system that had been cleared and attempt to restore power to some members. Working slowly, feeder by feeder, crews were eventually able to restore power to nearly every member in the mountain territory. However, a second round of windstorms was now on deck.

“It is backbreaking work to spend all that time clearing debris and restoring power while knowing you will probably have to do it all over again in another 24 hours,” said Dillon. “It takes a certain mindset to do what lineworkers do day in and day out, with a lot of dedication and determination, especially in adverse and unpredictable conditions.”

Heavy winds arrived earlier than expected for the second storm, hitting the co-op overnight on Dec. 19 and causing outages to roll in quickly. Before the sun had a chance to rise, all members were once again without power. The prior day’s efforts erased in just a couple hours. 

Troubleshooters were dispatched, but little could be done as conditions deteriorated into the morning and early afternoon. Relentless winds toppled trees and blew debris into power lines. Until there was a break, the situation was too dangerous — and too uncertain — to conduct restoration attempts. 

Slowly and methodically, as the wind broke and crews were able to assess damage to the system, the cooperative began a painstaking weekend of clearing debris, making repairs to infrastructure, testing the system, and, finally, restoring power.

“Our lineworkers are diligent and gritty. They work hard to keep the lights on,” said Travis Rodlin, United Power’s Mountain Manager. “They were prepared for the circumstances of these storms and did not back down from the challenge.”

The weekend provided relief from winds and a fresh dusting of snow, allowing United Power to operate under standard system settings instead of Wildfire Safety Mode, which had been activated for much of the previous week. It did not, however, ease the burden of lineworkers who encountered a significant number of downed trees and power lines as they worked toward restoration. Approximately 1,000 members were without power throughout Saturday, and that number dropped to 125 by Sunday afternoon. A couple dozen remaining members were restored on Monday morning, finally ending the outage. 

“As proud as I am of our lineworkers’ efforts, I am equally grateful to our members for their patience throughout the restoration process,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power President and CEO. “Many of our members were without power for several days. That would be difficult for anyone. Thank you for giving our lineworkers the grace to safely restore power.”

Learn more about United Power’s Wildfire Safety Mode and power safety updates.