Much is being written these days about increasing electric demand in the face of declining central power stations, such as coal plants, and how the electric industry will manage this coming onslaught. People are especially concerned that data centers, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), will cause major problems for the electric grid.

United Power has been blessed with growth for nearly 20 years, and that trend is continuing. One only has to drive around our service territory to see what that growth looks like. Last summer we set a new all-time peak of nearly 650 MW, and this past December we hit nearly 500 MW, making us the largest electric distribution cooperative by load in Colorado and the third largest utility after Xcel and Colorado Springs Utilities.

We added nearly 3,300 meters in 2024 and our monthly electric load has increased consistently. More than 7,600 electric vehicles are registered in our service territory. Whether it is the coming of the new BNSF Intermodal Center in Hudson/Lochbuie, expanding existing data centers, or new residential developments, your cooperative is keeping up.

Recently, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted rules that require midstream gas suppliers reduce greenhouse gasses by 20.5% as compared to a 2015 baseline by 2030. This will require electrification of the oil the gas fields — a process United Power began several years ago. We are partnering with our oil and gas members to help them meet this mandate.

Our service territory is desirable and we regularly receive inquiries from developers and large loads known as hyperscalers (i.e., data centers). These facilities require large electric loads and heavy demand around the clock. The good news is partnering with them will provide additional backup capabilities, as well as allow us to purchase more power at lower costs for all members. Our Key Accounts Advisors are handling those requests and working closely with the engineering and power supply teams to ensure we can meet their energy demands. Millions of square feet of commercial and industrial space has also been added in just the past few years, especially along our interstate corridors.

While some utilities are turning down loads and wringing their hands over the increased demand, United Power believes it is critical to support our members where they are and when they need us. In order to do this, we follow the “LIT” process that involves closely working with potential loads as soon as practical. What does “LIT” involve?

• Location. Not every location is suitable to be supplied in a short period of time. Large loads that are moving into our service territory, such as data centers, are able to work with our team to locate areas where we can reasonably provide service within their timeframe. 
• Investment. Years ago, the United Power Board of Directors decided that “growth pays,” meaning any capital cost is born by the company or developer. This protects members from costs to add facilities — and yet helps lower other costs as we spread overhead across more members.
• Timing. Advanced planning is crucial to successfully adding infrastructure and we work closely with potential new members to get ahead of critical items such as ordering transformers, preparing the ground, and making sure we have capacity to handle the new load.

We are excited about this future and will continue to support all members, large and small. Anticipating and planning for electrification is at the heart of Our Cooperative Roadmap.

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

Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” 

This quote from Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is often paraphrased, “If you don’t know where you are going, then any road will get you there.” It speaks to the fact that a lack of direction can create challenges instead of opportunities and simply reinforces the status quo.

Having strategic direction, especially in times of significant societal and technological change, is critical. That is why the amazing team at United Power, supported by your Board of Directors, has unveiled the second version of Our Cooperative Roadmap (Roadmap). This document gives the co-op its direction and helps us screen activities in — as well as out.

The Roadmap v1.0 led us to where we are today. We have reduced our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 26% since May 1 and successfully raised $700 million to evolve as an independent utility and meet the needs of our communities and more than 113,000 members. The Roadmap helped us obtain $261 million through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program to support the transition to a cleaner energy supply and hyper-localize our resources. It clarified our technology investments, how we interact with members, and our role in supporting our communities.

Much has changed nearly three years after we unveiled the initial Roadmap. The western United States is edging closer to a power market and new power sources have come online. More members are adding solar panels and purchasing electric vehicles. But much has also remained the same, such as Colorado’s goal of 80% reduction in GHG emissions over 2005 levels by 2030 — a goal we will meet or exceed by helping members such as those in the oil and gas industry achieve their targets simply by electrifying the production facilities.

The Roadmap v2.0 maintains its focus on four critical areas that lie at the heart of what we do as a member-owned electric cooperative:

• Empower and Engage with Members and Communities. This critical element ties directly to United Power’s Community Benefit Plan through New ERA. Our dedicated focus on supporting communities and members made creating the benefit plan a simple task for our team.
• Provide Flexible, Affordable, Responsible Power and Services. United Power’s hyperlocalization strategy has resulted in significant deployment of battery energy storage systems, with more than 110 MWs spread across nine substations. It already proved valuable during last summer’s peak. This industry-leading deployment means we can benefit from times when power prices are low, using the stored energy when demand (and prices) are high.
• Continuously Optimize the Electric Distribution System. As we move toward becoming a distribution system operator (DSO), focusing on local generation and control, our system investments are made with your future needs in mind. We installed a new outage management system in 2024 that, coupled with our advanced metering infrastructure, gives us better real-time operational data.
• Achieve and Maintain Business Agility and Resilience. We will be replacing our distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) in 2025 to better manage system operations, and are rolling out a new asset management tool to improve our response times and better manage material and projects.

Underpinning Our Cooperative Roadmap are the amazing women and men of United Power and the foundational responsibilities they bring to running your cooperative every day.

Lewis Carroll’s words resonate for me when he said, “One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” It sure sounds so to me.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with your questions, comments, and concerns.