Brighton, Colo. — United Power has been named as one of a select group of utilities that connected the most energy storage capacity to the grid in 2018, earning it a spot on the annual Top 10 utility industry list compiled by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA).

In survey results released August 6, United Power ranked No. 10 on the utility energy storage list for Annual Megawatt-hours with 18.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) in interconnected capacity in 2018.

United Power was the only Colorado utility to be listed in the top ten and is among the smallest of the utilities to make the list. The survey ranked battery storage initiatives from a mix of investor-owned, municipal and cooperative utility systems – including some of the largest energy companies in the country. United Power is a member-owned electric cooperative serving just over 92,000 meters and is currently operating two Tesla battery storage systems—one of which is the largest battery storage system in Colorado.

“Being recognized in the top 10 with some of the largest utilities across the country is an honor and a testament to the innovation that our board and staff are working hard to achieve. We want to ensure that the latest emerging energy technologies are powering our members into the future,” said John Parker, United Power’s Chief Executive Officer. “Despite being one of the smaller utilities on this list, we continue to be leaders in energy innovation in Colorado, among cooperatives, and when measured against some of the largest investor-owned utilities across the country.”

The 12th Annual Utility Market Survey collected figures from over 500 utilities across the country. The full Top 10 listings are available online.

“The utilities in the Top 10 are truly spearheading the progress we’ve seen in the electric sector this past year,” said Julia Hamm, SEPA’s President and CEO. “It goes beyond just energy storage - they are implementing replicable business models and paving the way to a clean and modern energy future, something that won’t be possible without utilities’ leadership and cooperation.”

To learn more about the Energy Storage Top 10 Rankings, please contact Jordan Nachbar, JNachbar@sepapower.org or 202-559-2034

###

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative serving more than 92,000 homes and businesses along Colorado’s northern front range. To learn more about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Twitter or Facebook.

The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is dedicated to helping electric power stakeholders address the most pressing issues they encounter as they pursue the transition to a clean and modern electric future and a carbon-free energy system by 2050. We are a trusted partner providing education, research, standards, and collaboration to help utilities, electric customers, and other industry players across four pathways: Transportation Electrification, Grid Integration, Regulatory Innovation and Utility Business Models. Through educational activities, working groups, peer-to-peer engagements and advisory services, SEPA convenes interested parties to facilitate information exchange and knowledge transfer to offer the highest value for our members and partner organizations. For more information, visit www.sepapower.org.

Follow SEPA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Brighton, CO – In August, United Power welcomed Meghan Dewey to fill its newly created role of Member Engagement Officer. At United Power, Dewey will be responsible for developing and implementing a cohesive engagement strategy highlighting the cooperative’s commitment to its communities and its members. She will direct member services, new business, energy management and marketing and communications to develop programs to meet members’ diverse and changing needs.

“I am delighted to join United Power as its first Member Engagement Officer,” Dewey said. “United Power’s commitment to its members and community, and its strong track record of performance and innovation, provides a real foundation for our future. I’m looking forward to working together with our members, our board, community leaders, and the United Power executive team to continue to provide value to our members and help lead us forward into a better energy future – the cooperative way.”

Dewey comes to United Power with a track record of enhancing customer experience and implementing successful customer-minded energy efficiency programs after spending seven years in various leadership roles at one of California’s largest utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric. While with PG&E, she spearheaded one of the country’s largest and most impactful energy efficiency programs and technology portfolios with more than 100 customer programs. She was most recently involved in the company’s wildfire safety program, designing new programs, products and services to advance customers’ resiliency and meet their energy needs during proactive power shutoffs.

In addition to her experience leading program development and new product design, Dewey also oversaw the company’s legislative strategy for energy efficiency and demand-side management. She successfully advocated for landmark legislation giving investor-owned utilities the ability to develop new program models that would help meet the state’s aggressive carbon neutral goals. She served as co-chair of a statewide stakeholder engagement coalition representing California investor-owned utilities as the state moved to a new energy efficiency administration and program design model.

Committed to extending her leadership influence beyond the office, Dewey has also been active in representing the industry on various boards and committees and mentoring men and women pursuing careers in the energy and utility industry.

“United Power has a bold vision for its future, and we’re excited to add Meghan’s perspective as we develop our long-term strategy,” said John Parker, United Power Chief Executive Officer. “She brings a wealth of experience with her from her time at PG&E and will be a valuable addition as we continue to look for better ways to serve our members.”

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative serving more than 90,000 homes and businesses along Colorado’s northern front range. To learn more about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative at Facebook.com/UnitedPower.

###

For the second time in as many years, United Power lineman Kelly Snow will represent the cooperative in Guatemala. Snow has been selected to return later this summer as part of a crew of 20 linemen from Colorado and Oklahoma to provide power to yet another isolated jungle village. 

This past summer, Snow spent three weeks near Playa Grande setting poles, stringing line and hanging transformers to provide power to residents in two remote jungle villages for the first time. 

“It’s really an honor to be invited back,” Snow said. “Most of us have never had to go more than a day without electricity and the benefits it provides. These villages have never had that experience.”

Sillab, the village they’ll be energizing in October, is located in the mountainous jungles of north central Guatemala. Sillab is home to approximately 60 households, one elementary school and four churches, none of which have known the benefits of reliable and affordable electricity. 

While much of the work will be the same, the terrain presents a new difficulty for Snow and his fellow linemen. Crews will have to overcome harsh conditions in order to string electric line more than six miles to Sillab, including dense jungle foliage, mountainous terrain, frequent rain and high humidity. 

Harsh conditions and grueling manual labor contributed to fatigue and dehydration in the relatively flatter areas of Playa Grande. 

“You don’t quickly forget the experience of working in the rain and humidity,” Snow said. “But steep inclines add another level of safety we’ll have to prepare for and pay careful attention to during the project.”

In Playa Grande, long days seemed longer without access to major equipment, a condition that will also worsen in Sillab. 

With a few spare linemen and some light equipment, the utility near Playa Grande was able to provide a little help. The utility and power supplier near Sillab have only one lineman each and no equipment. 

“It will be tough, physical labor,” Snow said, “but I’m proud to be a part of it. At the end of the day, if you can be proud of what you did, the pain and the challenge is worth it.”

For more than 80 years, electric cooperatives have been helping small, rural communities across the country thrive. It’s one of the seven cooperative principles: concern for community. With the help of NRECA International, cooperatives have been able to take that mission global, providing millions of small communities with the gift of electricity. 

“This is why we were founded – bringing power to rural America,” Snow said. “The impact electricity makes on one of these villages is tangible and opens up doors to future possibilities.”

Your air conditioner is probably one of the most demand intensive appliances in your home. This means members will begin to see their demand charge rise to include this additional appliance as the summer heat arrives. There is good news if you like keeping your home cool, though. When United Power instituted the demand charge, there was a corresponding REDUCTION in the cost of energy. Since you use a lot of energy to keep your home cool, you will probably see very little change from prior summers in your average bill. 

When United Power moved to a demand rate we uncoupled costs that had previously been blended into the rate. This new structure gives you more control over your electric costs, by allowing you to avoid stacking appliance use. It also reduced the cost you pay for the actual energy you use.  

The change is helping to make sure you pay a more accurate portion of your costs for the distribution system that brings power to your home. 

Demand is the total of all electric appliances that are running at one time. United Power bases their demand charge on your highest demand in a 15-minute period throughout the month. In the summer this is going to happen when you run your air conditioner, and perhaps an additional appliance like your washer or oven.  For example, a 24,000 BTU air conditioner creates a demand of about 3.8 kW, which translates to a demand charge of $3.80 plus the demand of any other appliances running at the same time.

United Power made sure that our members can access the information they need to better understand their power consumption.  All United Power members can look at their power consumption and see when you reach your peak demand via the Power Portal. If you need help accessing the Power Portal give Member Services a call at 303-637-1300. Remember that our website, www.unitedpower.com, has lots of great information about how you can reduce demand and how demand billing works. 

In a co-op, everyone gets a piece of the pie, and beginning in August United Power will be dishing up $5.5 million in capital credit refunds to members. Upon review of cooperative’s financial position, United Power’s Board of Directors authorized the refund to members for 2019—the largest retirement in United Power’s history.

“United Power has a commitment to providing reliable energy to our members, but we also prioritize doing so at an affordable rate,” said John Parker, United Power’s Chief Executive Officer. “While we talk a lot about the benefits we provide to our members both individually and in the community, receiving something you can hold in your hands is a meaningful benefit, and one that differentiates cooperatives from other utilities across the country.”

This year, nearly 90,000 checks will be issued to residential and business members. Anyone who had service in 2018 or earlier will be eligible. While many members will receive a check, members receiving a refund amount less than $10 will get a credit on their bill. Look for your checks and bill credits to arrive beginning in mid-August through September. 

Your capital credit amount is determined based on two factors: how much electricity you use and how long you’ve been a member. The longer you are a member and the more power you use, the larger your share of each retirement. Capital credit retirements have returned a steady stream of money back to members in recent years. During the past decade, United Power has been able to retire millions of dollars back to its members. 

More About Capital Credits:

You might not realize it, but when you signed up to receive electric service from United Power you became a member—and owner—of an electric utility. While investor-owned utilities return a portion of any profits back to their investors, electric co-ops operate on a not-for-profit basis. So instead of returning leftover funds, known as margins, to investors who might not live in the same region or even the same state, we periodically issue capital based on how much you paid the co-op for electricity during a specified time period. Learn more here.