2017 Capital Credit Retirement to Distribute $5 Million

The United Power board approved a retirement this year of $5 million dollars, and that means that every member will get to share in the cooperative’s continuing good financial health. As the 11th consecutive year United Power has retired capital credits to its members, this $5 million dollar amount continues the commitment to sharing the performance of the cooperative with its members.

United Power, as a cooperative, is a not-for-profit operation. This means the co-op doesn’t work to earn margins for shareholders, but works for the members. Every year the United Power Board of Directors assesses the cooperative’s financial condition, and determines if and how much the cooperative can afford to return to the members.

Capital credits are based on two factors: how much electricity members use, and how long members have been a cooperative member. Essentially, the more power a member uses and the longer the member is part of the cooperative, the larger the share of each capital retirement. Each capital credit account represents a member’s investment into the cooperative, and those investment dollars are used over time to make capital improvements to the electric system.

“Capital credits illustrate one of the ways that cooperatives are very different from other utilities,” said John Parker, Interim CEO. “Our goal is to provide reliable electricity at economical rates, and with our members providing the support for our growing system we can meet the need for new service and keep rates economical. Every time a member receives a capital credit retirement from the cooperative, they receive a tangible benefit from their membership.”

Anyone who had service in 2016 or earlier will receive either a check or a bill credit as part of this year’s capital credit retirement. Any member who has a retirement of $10 or more will receive a check and anyone under that amount will receive a credit on their bill in August or September.

“We will be issuing more than 79,000 checks to our members this year, and many of those checks will be substantial,” Parker said. “Consider some of our largest users like local businesses, school districts, municipalities and farms and you can understand the impact United Power’s cooperative model has on the communities we serve. Large checks to a school district or for town facilities can really help with operational costs.”

Capital credit retirements have returned a steady stream of money back to members in recent years. In the past 11 years, United Power has retired $41 million in capital credits to our members.

To learn more about Capital Credits visit our Capital Credits page,  or call a Member Services Representative at 303-637-1300.

Darryl Schriver is leaving United Power as the cooperative’s CEO to take a position at Tri-County Electric in the Azle, Texas, located near the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. Board President James Vigesaa made the announcement to United Power employees during a  meeting on Wednesday afternoon.  John Parker, United Power’s CFO, will serve as interim CEO until a new selection is made by the  Board of Directors. Schriver’s last day will be June 23, 2017.  United Power wishes him and his family the best of luck in his new  endeavor.

More Hours to Serve You!
United Power’s Brighton and Ft. Lupton offices will offer expanded hours beginning on May 1st. Both offices will now be open from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday–Friday to serve walk-in members with account changes and in-person payments. United Power’s Brighton office is located at 500 Cooperative Way along the I-76 frontage road in Brighton, and the Ft. Lupton office is located at 1200 Dexter Street in the Safeway shopping center in Ft. Lupton. United Power’s Coal Creek office hours will stay the same, offering walk-in services and payments from 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday–Friday and we will continue to offer 24 hour dispatch for outages and emergencies.

Walk-in payment locations are one of many convenient options for United Power members to make a payment and access account information. Members can pay 24 hours per day over the phone and online through SmartHub. In addition, United Power members can also make cash payments at any MoneyGram location. Check out all of our payment and billing options here.

Brighton, Colo.—United Power has closed on the purchase of a 130,000 square foot facility located on the west side of the cooperative’s service territory to serve as the fourth location serving our members. The new facility is located on the east side of I-25, just south of Highway 119.

“The purchase of this building is a great step toward meeting some of United Power’s strategic goals,” said United Power CEO, Darryl Schriver. “As the territory becomes more populated, our ability to respond quickly and efficiently to our members is vital. This west office will allow us to dispatch trucks and personnel to the west and north sides of our territory quickly without the substantial drive time from the headquarters in Brighton.”

The new facility will help the cooperative free up space in the Brighton headquarters to have more room for training and storage. Plans are also in place to lease part of the west facility back to United Power’s primary contractor, Ward Electric. Ward Electric recently added United Power logos to their trucks to help members quickly identify cooperative contractors in the field.

“This facility is a win for the cooperative, for Ward Electric and for our members,” stated Schriver. “We’ve been able to negotiate a great financial deal on this purchase, in part because the seller appreciated the cooperative’s profile in the community and sees us a valuable resource. Now we’ll be able to better support the rapidly growing areas in our territory by having trucks and staff that can respond from both sides of our plains territory.”

United Power purchased the facility for $8.76 million and took possession on April 25th. United Power is also in negotiations to acquire an adjacent plot of undeveloped land. The additional property would allow for the addition of on-site material storage and expanded parking. The cooperative will be communicating updates about the new facility and how it will be used via the member newsletter United Newsline and on the website.