Brighton, CO – United Power announced that Laurie Rydwell has been selected to fill the position of Chief Financial Officer for the electric cooperative. The position has been vacant since the promotion of John Parker to CEO in July.

“We are excited to bring such a qualified candidate to our cooperative in this key leadership position,” stated John Parker, United Power CEO. “Laurie brings both experience and expertise to our cooperative. Her background in utilities, coupled with her strong technical background in finances will be a valuable addition to United Power.”

Rydwell most recently worked as Controller at Summit Utilities in Littleton, Colorado. Summit Utilities is a privately-held holding company that owns and operates several natural gas distribution and transmission subsidiaries. Prior to her work with Summit, Rydwell held several positions at Xcel Energy in Denver, managing the accounting operations for revenue, transmission, commercial, and settlements during her tenure.  A native of Anchorage, Alaska, her history there included work as a controller for both energy and investment firms, and work as a Chief Financial Officer for an asset management firm in Anchorage.  Rydwell is a graduate of the University of Alaska, with a degree in Business Administration, and is a certified public accountant in both Alaska and Colorado.

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.

Mary Hodge, Adams County Commissioner, and Troy Whitmore, United Power Public Affairs Officer received the distinguished Alumni of the Plains award from Pro 15 at their annual Fall Conference held in October. Commissioner Hodge was also inducted into the Pro 15 Legislative Hall of Fame.

Hodge, a United Power member, graduated from high school in Idalia, Colo., and prior to serving as an Adams County Commissioner, she served in the Colorado State Legislature in both the House and Senate. Whitmore graduated from high school in Haxtun, Colo. and has been with United Power for 31 years. He has served the community on the Thornton City Council, Brighton Economic Development Council, MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce Board and Government Affairs Committee, Northeastern Junior College Alumni Association and the Colorado 4-H and Colorado FFA Foundations.

The Alumni of the Plains award was established eleven years ago to recognize individuals who graduated from a high school in one of the 15 counties in Northeast Colorado, and who have excelled in their profession. Progressive 15 (Pro 15) is the collective voice of 15 counties in Northeast Colorado—advocating for legislation and policy that impact the economic vitality of the region.

The United Power Board of Directors has appointed Keith Alquist to the board. A Brighton resident for more than 25 years, Alquist was selected from a strong slate of candidates that submitted applications for consideration. Alquist will fill the South District seat vacated by the resignation of Bob Grant in August, and serve the remaining term, just over two years.

“The selection of Keith to fill this board seat is a win for the cooperative members,” stated James Vigesaa, Board President. “Keith brings a rich background in cooperative business and an intimate knowledge of the United Power community to this position.”

Alquist served as Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer for the American Pride Co-op for more than 20 years, retiring after the co-op merged with Agfinity in 2012. In this position he served cooperative members throughout Brighton, Ft. Lupton, Hudson and Mead. He is a long-term member of the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives (NSAC) which also serves electrical cooperatives. Also an active community member, Alquist is a member of the Brighton Rotary club, which spearheads a Read-to-Me project at South Elementary, a dictionary project for third graders, and the distribution of U.S. Constitution booklets to fifth graders.

“I believe in meeting challenges ‘head-on’ and getting them resolved before they become serious issues,” stated Alquist. “I also believe in long-range planning for the future to identify issues, whether they are supply, generation, environmental, or regulatory issues, and be ready to face these issues before they become insurmountable.”

United Power announced plans to construct its first commercial scale energy storage project.  Located in Firestone, CO and developed in collaboration with Chicago based SoCore Energy, the 4 MW / 16 MWh battery storage system will be the largest facility in the State of Colorado and one of the largest systems owned and operated by an electric co-op anywhere in the country.

“As one of the fastest growing co-ops in Colorado, United Power wants to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to integrating new technology that can help boost reliability and keep costs down.  Energy storage will play an important role in the grid of the future, and we’re excited to be starting now,” said John Parker, CEO of United Power.

United Power partnered with SoCore Energy to develop the project, which will be located at United Power’s west office on I-25, just south of Highway 119.  SoCore is a leading solar PV and energy storage developer with a special focus on serving rural electric cooperatives.  SoCore and United Power selected Tesla to supply the 4 MW / 16 MWh Powerpack system.

“SoCore worked closely with United Power to understand the objectives of the project, siting and design considerations, and performance requirements.  This has been a terrific partnership so far, and we’re looking forward to getting construction underway,” said SoCore President Rob Scheuermann.

The battery storage system will store energy generated in the overnight hours, when demand is low, and discharge it during peak hours to reduce demand.  Curbing peak demand will reduce costs and help improve the overall efficiency of United Power’s electric grid as it serves its more than 82,000 meters.

The Firestone system is the first of several energy storage projects that United Power will roll out, piloting an innovative “community battery” strategy, allowing users to purchase a share of the battery system’s output to directly reduce demand charges on their monthly electric bills.

“United Power was one of the first utilities in the country to experiment with the ‘community solar’ concept with our Sol Partners™ program, and now there are community solar projects all over the country.  ‘Community batteries’ are the next big trend,” said United Power’s New Business Director, Jerry Marizza.

SoCore Energy’s Scheuermann agrees.  “Community batteries allow co-ops and their members to address the demand components of the utility bill – the portion that can’t easily be addressed with solar energy alone.  Batteries provide opportunities to reduce costs, increase choices for co-ops and their members while improving resiliency of the grid.”

Construction on the system is expected to begin in the first half of 2018.

United Power is joining 30,000 cooperatives nationwide in October to celebrate National Co-op Month, which recognizes the many ways cooperatives are committed to strengthening the local communities they serve. “Co-ops Commit” is the theme for this year’s celebration, spotlighting the countless ways cooperatives meet the needs of their members and communities.

“Our cooperative delivers electricity to over 200,000 people in our six-county service area along the north central range of the Colorado Rockies,” said John Parker, CEO. “Delivering safe, reliable, affordable power is our top priority, but we are also invested in our communities because we are locally owned and operated. Revenue generated by United Power goes back to Main Street, not Wall Street.”

Rural America is served by a network of about 1,000 electric cooperatives, most of which were formed in the 1930s and 40s to bring electricity to farms and rural communities that large, investor-owned power companies had no interest in serving because of the higher costs involved in serving low-population and low-density areas. In addition to providing the vital power co-op members depend on, United Power supports our communities directly and indirectly. We provide educational opportunities for youth in our territory, visiting classrooms teaching students about electrical safety or talking to them about job opportunities.

We also educate our communities and members about the dangers of contact with electricity through our safety demonstration trailer. Not only does our presentation team, made up of knowledgeable linemen, teach people how to be safe around electricity, but they also inform people about the complex and dangerous tasks our linemen face each day and explain the importance of safety equipment, including personal protective equipment, rubber gloves, hard hats and cover ups.

United Power provides college scholarships and sponsors student representatives to youth camps in Colorado and Washington D.C. We are sponsors of dozens of community events including fairs, festivals and school fundraisers. United Power employees are active members of local Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Councils and nonprofit organizations serving our membership.

United Power is proud to be part of America’s cooperative network and we are dedicated to bringing safe, reliable electricity to our members.

By November, a third large scale solar field will be energized in United Power’s territory– the Platteville Solar Farm. This 16 megawatt (MWAC) solar project is now the largest cooperative solar farm in Colorado– surpassing our own 13 megawatt Fort Lupton Solar Farm, energized in June 2016.

Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading developer, owner, and operator of solar energy plants, will own and operate the solar field, while United Power will purchase the energy produced over the next 20 years. The 175-acre farm is located at 19028 County Road 28, just east of Platteville. The farm features technology that allows more than 185,000 solar panels to track the sun from east to west and will produce enough low-cost, renewable power to serve 3,000 United Power members annually.

Combined with the Fort Lupton Solar Farm and the Mavericks Solar Farm, a 6.5 megawatt solar farm in Mead energized in December 2016, more than 6,700 homes and businesses in United Power’s territory will be powered by solar energy once the Platteville Solar Farm is energized.