Have you ever received a notification from United Power informing you of a “planned outage?” You may have wondered, “What is a planned outage?” and “Why does my electric utility need to perform one?” Occasionally, the equipment we use to bring power to your home needs to be replaced, repaired, or updated. When this happens, as a way to keep our crews and you safe, we plan an interruption to electric service.

We do our best to plan these outages during times when members will be the least inconvenienced. We also try to avoid planning these outages during winter or summer months. We understand these are peak times of the year when you depend on running your heating and cooling units the most.

While they may sound slightly inconvenient, planned outages are actually beneficial to you. Regular system upgrades are necessary for optimal performance, and they increase reliability. Repairing and upgrading our equipment is also critical to maintaining public safety. If older lines need to be replaced, we plan for it, repair or replace it, and that keeps everyone safe.

Planned outages also allow us to keep you informed of when and how long you will be without power. In most cases, we will notify you in advance, by telephone, before an outage, so you can be prepared.

We will also keep you aware of when line crews will be working in your area. Here at United Power, we want to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep you safe and to keep our system running smoothly. So the next time you hear about a planned outage, know that it is one of the best ways we can provide you with quality electric service.

Beginning next year, members will see some changes to the rebate requirements on heat pump air conditioners as well as an increase in rebate amounts. Beginning on January 1, 2018, air source heat pumps must have a SEER rating of at least 15 in order to receive a rebate. Air source heat pumps with a 15-17 SEER rating, will receive a $300 per ton rebate from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, and air source heat pumps with a SEER rating above 17 will receive a $450 per ton rebate from Tri-State. Members will continue to receive an additional $100 per unit rebate on air source heat pumps from United Power, if attached to an existing ETS forced air furnace. Ground-source heat pump rebates from Tri-State are increasing from $250 to $500 per ton starting on January 1, 2018. An inspection by United Power is required to qualify for rebates and members are encouraged to call United Power’s Energy Management Team prior to making any purchases to discuss rebate requirements. Learn more about our rebates here.