Employees Volunteered at Eight Local Organizations in October

United Power celebrated National Co-op Month in October with the return of its popular Days of Service campaign for the second consecutive year. The cooperative collaborated with local nonprofits on eight service projects designed to provide volunteer opportunities for employees to spend a day giving back. 

These projects emphasize the co-op’s commitment to the communities it serves and recognize the importance of nonprofits that are meeting the needs of members. This year, more than 90 employees participated. 

“Our employees share the cooperative’s commitment to care for the local community,” said Julie Stewart, United Power’s Community Outreach Specialist. “They understand how important these organizations, and the services they provide, are to local families, and they were excited to volunteer.”

Some of the projects included building a fence and cleaning on-site areas at Happiness Through Horses; trail maintenance and winter prep at the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies; prepping spaces for upcoming projects at the Pennock Center; and packing food for distribution at the Adams County Food Bank, Fort Lupton Food and Clothing Bank, Pastor’s Pantry, and the Weld Food Bank’s mobile pantry. United Power employees also donated hygiene products throughout the month and helped pack kits for Sparkling Kindness. 

“I am very thankful that I could participate and help an organization in our service territory,” said one employee after helping distribute food to local families at the Weld Food Bank. “These opportunities set us apart from other electric utilities and show how much we truly care about our members.”

These organizations are a continual reminder that the cooperative serves thriving communities thanks to our members’ spirits of service and commitment to giving back. Local residents recognized an important need in their community and found a way to meet it with the help of like-minded friends and neighbors. It resembles the way electric cooperatives were formed nearly 90 years ago when local farmers came together to establish a local power company, owned by the members it serves. 

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.

###
 

Proactive Strategies to Protect Members & Communities

A small neighborhood on the northeast side of the Gross Dam Reservoir in Coal Creek Canyon was evacuated late last summer after a fire erupted at a work site in the community. The Lake Shore Fire damaged at least two structures and burned nearly seven acres before it was contained. Although United Power members were minimally impacted due to the rapid response of local emergency management teams, the close call demonstrates the reality of wildfire risks in Colorado.

October is nationally recognized as Fire Prevention Month, but for the cooperative, every day is an ongoing effort to improve fire mitigation strategies that protect members and communities. United Power debuted its first official Wildfire Mitigation Plan in 2019 to highlight existing programs and guide future initiatives. It directs the cooperative to implement industry-leading strategies and utilize innovative technologies that identify and address risk factors. Like Our Cooperative Roadmap, the plan evolves each year through review and revision, accounting for emerging technology and new data about the service territory. 

“A wildfire mitigation plan is essential for any electric utility and is top of mind at United Power,” said Adam Dillon, Vice President of Operations. “Not only does it prepare us for a wildfire event and help protect our communities, it also helps improve our system reliability and keeps us engaged with the communities we serve.”

The single largest element of the plan is its robust and aggressive approach to vegetation management, which includes clearing rights-of-way and increasing accessibility to electrical equipment for maintenance and outage restoration. Clearing overgrowth is critical and removes hazards that could create an ignition or fuel source. The cooperative onboarded a new solution for efficiently scheduling and tracking vegetation management projects called AiDash in 2021. The sophisticated software leverages artificial intelligence with satellite imagery to establish growth patterns and identify risks in real time. The implementation was so successful that AiDash recognized United Power for its impact on wildfire risk reduction.

One of the cooperative’s challenges in wildfire mitigation is serving a rugged mountain territory with difficult terrain for crews to inspect efficiently. United Power recently enhanced its drone inspection program with light detection and ranging imaging — more commonly known as LiDAR — to map high risk areas and conduct line inspections. This imaging helps quickly identify issues so that repairs can be made sooner. The first flights took place late last year with additional focus earlier this summer.

The implementation of AiDash and LiDAR continues the cooperative’s historical trend of reviewing and deploying new technology in innovative ways that improve system resiliency and mitigate wildfire risk. The cooperative has long been an industry leader for its deployment of automated smart devices, which allows the cooperative to quickly restore power during an outage or cut the flow of power during high-risk fire weather. United Power also uses infrared cameras to detect heat signatures at its substations and sensors strategically located in high-risk areas that can detect smoke and gas particulates. 

“We are always looking at ways to improve our mitigation plan,” said Travis Rodlin, Mountain Area Manager. “Technology is ever changing. Our use of artificial intelligence may increase as it evolves to improve speed and efficiency of our evaluations and efforts. Hybrid undergrounding is also being researched within the industry, which could benefit areas where undergrounding was not previously cost effective or possible.”

United Power has developed operational procedures, called Wildfire Safety Mode, that are enacted when the National Weather Service issues Red Flag Warnings. These warnings mean the combination of weather conditions — high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds — increase the risk of fire danger. While in wildfire safety mode, the system will automatically de-energize line segments when foreign objects are detected, and they will remain off until crews have completed a manual inspection. Another inspection is completed after power is restored. This may temporarily increase outage restoration times but substantially increases safety and reduces fire risk. 

“Ultimately, wildfire mitigation cannot be the sole responsibility of any single utility,” Rodlin said. “It requires a community-wide commitment. Proactive measures like home hardening, creating defensible space, and property-wide mitigation are essential to help our communities be better prepared. That is why we actively collaborate at the county and state levels and will continue to support local efforts to build a more resilient community together.” 

Members can learn more about the cooperative’s Wildfire Mitigation Plan here.