First In-Person Annual Meeting Since 2019

For the past two years, United Power has hosted its Annual Meeting virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to protect the health and safety of members and employees. As public health restrictions ease, the cooperative will offer members an opportunity to gather in person and hear from co-op leadership for the first time since 2019. The 2022 Annual Meeting will be hosted in a hybrid format on April 13, meaning members may also participate online via a livestream hosted on the cooperative’s website.

All members are invited to attend the Annual Meeting to hear from United Power leadership about the exciting ways the cooperative has continued to serve members throughout the previous year. Despite navigating ongoing public safety restrictions from the pandemic, the cooperative managed contract negotiations with its wholesale power supplier while also improving system reliability and continuing to provide the same level of service its members have come to expect. Participating members will receive an attendance gift, and an opportunity to win one of several door prizes.

Voting in the annual director election also provides United Power members the unique ability to voice their thoughts on the cooperative’s future. Each year, your votes determine who serves on the United Power Board of Directors. Your participation in the election is critical to helping the cooperative better serve you.

Five candidates are running for election to the Board of Directors. This year, one seat in the East, South, and West Districts is up for election. The director candidates are Steven “Steve” Douglas, Naptali A. Lucks, and Elizabeth “Beth” A. Martin in the East District; Keith Alquist in the South District; and Ursula J. Morgan in the West District.

Candidate Statements

The cooperative mails out director ballots in mid-March and encourages all members to vote and return their ballots prior to the deadline. This year, members can participate in the director election electronically through their online account. Voting online is a fast and secure way to submit your ballots and avoid delays in mail handling. Online and mail-in ballots must be received by noon on April 12, or members can vote in person on April 13 at the meeting. Although directors live in specific geographical districts, they represent all members and are therefore elected on an “at-large” basis. Please cast a vote for a director in each district regardless of where you live.

Attending the Meeting

The in-person meeting will be held at the Riverdale Regional Park & Fairgrounds on April 13. Registration opens at 4:30 p.m. and balloting closes at the beginning the official business meeting at 6:30 p.m. The virtual stream will begin at 6:30 p.m. To view the livestream, go to www.unitedpower.com/annual-meeting.

Our appliances make life easier and help tackle the manual tasks of housework, but there’s a cost to this convenience. Many newer models are designed to be energy efficient, but why not take measures that will help you save even more energy and money?

1. Run a full load. Wash clothes and dishes with a full load only; partial loads waste energy and water. Load your dishwasher according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fill the racks completely to maximize water and energy use but allow for adequate water circulation to ensure clean dishes.
2. Stay cool and fresh. Set refrigerator and freezer thermostats at the recommended temperature settings: 37°F to 40°F for the refrigerator, and 5°F for the freezer. It will help optimize energy savings while keeping foods fresh.
3. Stock the fridge. A fully stocked unit uses less energy because there is less air to cool. Avoid overfilling; too many items packed together closely will reduce air circulation.
4. Keep your dryer dry. Clean the lint filter after each dryer load; this will increase air circulation and improve dryer efficiency. Inspect your dryer vent periodically to ensure that it's not blocked.
5. Air your clean laundry. When doing laundry, why not air-dry your clothes? It will reduce energy costs, and it may help to keep clothes looking new.
6. Get cooking efficiently. Use your microwave or toaster oven rather than the stovetop or oven. These smaller appliances often heat food more quickly, while using less energy. If you do use the stovetop, match the pan size to the burner size, and cover pots and pans.

Boost your Savings with an Energy Smart Rebate

Looking to upgrade to more efficient appliances? Replace older appliances with new ENERGY STAR®-certified efficient models. These products are the best of the best, delivering cutting-edge energy efficiency along with the latest in technological innovation.

United Power members can boost their savings with rebates on a variety of ENERGY STAR® and select efficient electric appliances. View the complete menu of Energy Smart Rebates to reduce the cost your new appliance purchase.

Marshall Fire Reveals Urban Fire Threat; March 6 Seminar to Cover Fire Safety & Preparedness

Historic wildfires have devastated large parts of Colorado and its neighboring states over the past few years. However, the Marshall Fire in late December opened our eyes to the reality that wildfires are not simply a threat for our mountain communities. Given the right conditions, wildfires can spring up anywhere and quickly become uncontrollable.

The Marshall Fire erupted in eastern Boulder County before claiming nearly 1,000 homes and businesses in Boulder, Superior and Louisville, just miles from Denver and even closer to United Power members living in Coal Creek Canyon and Carbon Valley.

United Power has made significant investments in system improvements and upgrades to mitigate the potential for fires off its power lines, particularly in its own mountain communities. With multiple strong wind storms in December, including the storm that fueled the Marshall Fire, those system improvements have more than shown their value to members in both reliability and safety. The cooperative has also provided additional resources members can use to help mitigate the threat of wildfires on their own property, such as how to create “defensible space,” referring to the strategic removal of vegetation that could create a bridge for fire to pass over.

In March, the Firestone Free Thinkers 4-H Club, in partnership with United Power, is hosting a free one-hour fire safety and disaster preparedness training, presented by the Frederick-Firestone Fire Protection District and the Carbon Valley Emergency Management Agency. The training will discuss how to pack a “go kit” in case of an emergency, how to create defensible space, the difference between evacuations and shelter-in-place and hazards in Carbon Valley.

Fire Safety & Disaster Preparedness Training

FREE 1-HOUR EVENT. NO RSVP REQUIRED. 

Where:
United Power Carbon Valley Service Center
9586 E I-25 Frontage Rd, Longmont

When:
March 6, 2022 @ 3:00 p.m.

Contact:
CV Emergency Management, 720-526-6594
www.fffd.us/227/emergency-management

United Power Consistently, Significantly Better than National Average

United Power understands the most important thing its members want is consistently reliable power. Being able to deliver uninterrupted power is prominently weighed in how the cooperative defines success each year. Since altering its maintenance practices a few years ago, United Power’s reliability has significantly improved, as have its outage numbers. Already an industry leader in automated field devices and other innovative projects, the cooperative is also trending well below the national average in utility outage times, setting yet another standard for others to emulate.

The national average for outage duration among electric utilities in the United States has consistently hovered around 120 minutes per meter. This means the average electric consumer can expect to experience approximately two hours of outage time at their home over the course of a year. When United Power’s operations team instituted a new data-driven maintenance plan in 2017, its average outage times resembled the national averages. In the four years following the plan’s launch, the cooperative’s outage times per meter have dropped below 70 minutes.

The new maintenance practice focuses on analyzing data collected across thousands of miles of line to isolate the worst performing segments. With these segments identified, targeted maintenance projects can be scheduled to improve their performance.

“When you target maintenance efforts at the worst performing parts of the system it improves reliability for members served off of it,” said Bryant Robbins, United Power’s Chief Operating Officer. “Maintenance is an ongoing process, but as long as we continue analyzing the data, isolating problem sections and targeting our maintenance efforts to improve them, it improves the whole system’s reliability and resilience.”

Devices on the system, such as enhanced technology in substations and advanced metering equipment, collect data and transfer it back to system operators. In the event of an outage, these devices can capture important information, such as time, location and sequence-of-events. Armed with this, lineworkers in the field can use the information to restore power to members more quickly, which also contributes to decreased outage times. Without this information, not only would identifying problematic areas be difficult, or even impossible, it would also create additional delays in power restoration as lineworkers inspect miles of line to find the cause.

Some system improvements have served dual functions. United Power recently published its comprehensive fire mitigation plan, which includes new standards and program initiatives primarily focused on areas of the territory that are particularly at risk of wildfires, such as Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyons. In December, storms blew through the territory with wind speeds in excess of 115 mph, including the storm that ultimately fueled the Marshall Fire. The cooperative activated its fire mitigation protocols during these windstorms, and due to proactive upgrades only experienced a few small outages.

“Our maintenance and system improvement efforts are already paying off for our members,” said Robbins. “Implementing this new maintenance plan has been effective and is proving its value. It’s hard to estimate how many outages you’ve prevented when you don’t have them, but our proactive efforts have gone a long way in helping prevent and/or quickly resolving outages.”

Regardless of the size or length of outage, United Power is continually investigating what causes them and how it can implement new practices to decrease their impact to members and duration. From system redundancies allowing the cooperative to restore power from a secondary location while repairs are being made to deploying an industry-leading number of automated devices, improving system reliability is one of United Power’s core goals.