Electronic Balloting Now Open; Paper Ballots Mailed March 15

Brighton, CO – Balloting in United Power’s 2024 Director Election is open. Members of the cooperative have the option to cast their ballots electronically through their online account or via paper ballot, mailed to members on Friday, March 15. Electronic and mail ballots must be received by 11:59 a.m. on April 16. Members may also vote in person at the cooperative’s Annual Meeting on April 17.

United Power encourages all members to cast their votes in the annual Director Election. Voting allows members to have a voice in their board representation and helps the cooperative better serve its members. Members can log into their online account or the United Power mobile app to cast an electronic ballot. Click the “Vote Now” button to access the ballot. Mail ballots should be returned via the postage-paid envelope included in the ballot package.

Four positions on United Power’s Board are up for election this year – one seat in the Mountain, North, Central, and South Districts. The director candidates are Stephen Whiteside (incumbent) in the Mountain District; Brian A. McCormick (incumbent) in the North District; Tim Erickson (incumbent) and Paige Wagner-Maul in the Central District; and Brad Case (incumbent) in the South District. Candidate statements are available here.

Directors represent all members and are elected on an “at-large” basis. This means members may cast a vote for a director in each district and not just their own. Directors serve in geographic districts to ensure United Power’s Board adequately represents members throughout the service territory and provides accessibility to cooperative leadership.

A bylaw amendment is included on this year’s ballot regarding the length of a director’s term. Members will be asked whether director terms should be lengthened from three years to four years.

Director Election and bylaw amendment results will be announced at the 2024 Annual Meeting, held at the Riverdale Regional Park & Fairgrounds in Brighton on April 17. Registration for the meeting opens at 4:30 p.m. and balloting closes at the beginning of the official business meeting at 6:30 p.m. A livestream of the meeting will be hosted on the cooperative’s website at www.unitedpower.com/annual-meeting.

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, delivering electricity to homes, farms, and businesses throughout Colorado’s northern front range. The cooperative is one of the fastest-growing electric co-ops in the nation, and in June 2021 joined the elite ranks of cooperatives serving more than 100,000 meters. The 900-square mile service territory extends from the mountains of Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyon, along the I-25 corridor and Carbon Valley region, to the farmlands of Brighton, Hudson, and Keenesburg. United Power is also a founding member of the NextGen Cooperative Alliance, which is dedicated to expanding the power supply and procurement options available to distribution co-ops and reforming the traditional generation and transmission business model. For more information about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

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United Power Celebrates 85 Years of Service at This Year’s Annual Meeting

United Power has been proudly serving members along the Colorado Front Range for 85 years — setting the standard for innovative excellence in system performance, technological adoption and deployment, member engagement, and commitment to community growth and development. The cooperative has accomplished a lot in the past year as it prepares for the upcoming exit from its wholesale power contract in May, including record reliability and groundbreaking energy partnerships, a renewed dedication to supporting key accounts while maintaining the same level of local involvement, and expanding member programs and self-serve options. Members are invited to attend the 2024 Annual Meeting on April 17 and join the cooperative in celebrating the many ways it is “Here for Good.” 

Voting in the annual Director Election also provides United Power members the unique opportunity to have a voice in the cooperative’s future. Each year, your votes determine who will serve on the Board of Directors. Member participation in the election is crucial to helping the cooperative better serve you. 

Five candidates are running for election to the Board of Directors this year. One seat in the Mountain, North, Central, and South Districts is up for election. The director candidates are Stephen Whiteside (incumbent) in the Mountain District; Brian A. McCormick (incumbent) in the North District; Tim Erickson (incumbent) and Paige Wagner-Maul in the Central District; and Brad Case (incumbent) in the South District. Consider attending the Meet the Candidates event on March 19 to learn more about director candidates or read their candidate statements here. 

A bylaw amendment is included on this year’s ballot regarding director term lengths. Members are being asked if director terms should be changed from three years to four years. 

Balloting opens on March 15. United Power encourages all members to cast their votes in the election. Members may vote electronically through their online account or via mail ballots, sent to all members. Online and mail-in ballots must be received by 11:59 a.m. on April 16, or members can vote in person on April 17 at the meeting. Ballot drop boxes will not be available in cooperative offices this year, however a ballot drop box will be available on-site at the Annual Meeting from noon to 4 p.m. Directors represent all members and are therefore elected on an “at-large” basis. This means members may cast a vote for a director in each district and not just their own. Directors serve in geographic districts to ensure accessibility for members and to provide a representative cross-section of United Power’s member base in the co-op’s governing body.

Attend the Annual Meeting

The 2024 Annual Meeting will be held at Riverdale Regional Park on April 17. Registration opens at 4:30 p.m. and balloting closes at the beginning of the official business meeting at 6:30 p.m. Members may also view a livestream of the meeting posted here. 
 

Brighton, CO - United Power was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to begin award negotiations for up to $6.1 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding as part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program. The Fort Lupton Microgrid project was selected as one of 17 clean energy projects across 20 states and 30 tribal nations and communities to receive more than $366 million to ensure more reliable power, lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide economic growth opportunities, and support our nation’s rural and remote communities.

“We are excited that this unique project was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy through this program,” stated Mark A. Gabriel, United Power CEO and President. “United Power is in the process of changing our operating structure to invest in more local power generation, and that includes developing energy solutions along with local leadership. United Power has a long history of partnering with the communities we serve to bring them the services their residents need, and this innovative microgrid project is an illustration of that commitment. I encourage all our members to read more about our vision for United Power’s energy future on our Cooperative Roadmap, which can be found at unitedpower.com. Building a cooperative for tomorrow through new energy solutions is a just one of the ways we are showing our members that we are here for good.”

The Fort Lupton Microgrid project was submitted with the goal of increasing the reliability of the city’s municipal water treatment plant. The project will replace an aging diesel generator with a floating photovoltaic array, coupled with battery storage, that will help to ensure a clean, reliable water source for residents of Fort Lupton. The project will bring construction jobs to the area, and United Power is partnering with Aims Community College and the BUENO Centre for Multicultural Education to provide contracting outreach in the community. Schneider Electric will lead the construction of the microgrid, which will improve power resiliency, reduce water evaporation, and help the city deliver reliable water services. The project is eligible for up to $6.1 million in funding.

“We expect this project to increase power redundancy while reducing our costs,” stated Chris Cross, Fort Lupton City Administrator. “We are projecting a 9% savings on the city’s monthly power bill. Coupled with the floating panel benefits to the water storage, we are excited to see how high our overall savings will be from the project.”

“This project captures our drive to revolutionize the energy landscape,” said Jana Gerber, Microgrid President, Schneider Electric North America. “The Fort Lupton microgrid is a perfect complement for our focus on streamlining energy delivery, while providing more sustainable energy solutions. Bringing additional jobs and training opportunities to residents is a key component of the project and will help build the skillsets workers will need in an expanded energy economy.”

Learn more about the ERA program and projects selected for award negotiations here.

About United Power

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, delivering electricity to homes, farms, and businesses throughout Colorado’s northern front range. The cooperative is one of the fastest-growing electric co-ops in the nation, and in June 2021 joined the elite ranks of cooperatives serving more than 100,000 meters. The 900-square mile service territory extends from the mountains of Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyon, along the I-25 corridor and Carbon Valley region, to the farmlands of Brighton, Hudson, and Keenesburg. United Power is also a founding member of the NextGen Cooperative Alliance, which is dedicated to expanding the power supply and procurement options available to distribution co-ops and reforming the traditional generation and transmission business model. For more information about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

About the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) was established to accelerate clean energy technologies and fill a critical innovation gap on the path to achieving our nation’s climate goals of net zero emissions by 2050. OCED’s mission is to deliver clean energy demonstration projects at scale in partnership with the private sector to accelerate deployment, market adoption, and the equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system. Visit energy.gov/oced to learn more. 

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Cooperative Achieves Record SAIDI Score for Second Year in a Row

United Power’s core responsibility to its members as an electric cooperative is ensuring consistently reliable power, which means the lights stay on and the power continues flowing whenever you need it to be available. Several years ago, the co-op’s operations and engineering staff began coordinating the implementation of an innovative system maintenance strategy. It incorporated embedded devices throughout the system and preventative maintenance practices to meet ambitious goals for reliability and resiliency – defined as the ability to rapidly recover from power outages, such as reducing frequency or duration. 

Results exceeded expectations. United Power successfully prevented thousands of potential power interruptions before they occurred, dramatically reducing the number of outages members experience and limiting the duration when outages do occur. The strategy has produced sustained improvements in reliability and resiliency year-over-year since it was implemented in 2017, cementing the cooperative’s status among the best performing electric utilities in the country. 

By the Numbers

Electric utilities measure system performance and develop improvement plans using a variety of indicators, such as the System Average Interruption Duration Index – more commonly known as SAIDI – and the System Average Interruption Frequency Index, or SAIFI. These indicators, among the many that United Power and other electric utilities use to measure how successful systems are performing, essentially analyze data and calculate outage expectations for an average member. 

SAIDI measures the total outage time an average member would expect to experience over the course of a year (cumulative duration of all outages experienced). The national average is approximately 120 minutes. United Power has not produced a SAIDI score above 72 minutes since 2017 and has maintained a score below 60 minutes – less than half the national average – for the past two years. 

SAIFI measures the total number of outages an average member would expect to experience over the course of a year (frequency of outages experienced). United Power’s SAIFI score of 0.65 in 2023 means the average meter experienced fewer than one outage throughout the year. Put another way, many of the cooperative’s members did not experience an outage last year.

Other performance indicators are used, as well. One of those indicators measures the system’s overall availability rate. The co-op’s availability in 2023 was greater than 99%. 

“These metrics demonstrate the success of the strategies we are using to improve reliability and resiliency across our system,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power’s President and CEO. “Thank you to our operations and engineering teams, who are responsible for interpreting data from the system and designing the strategies we practice in the field.”

Preventative Maintenance Practices Installed 

United Power incorporated a proactive approach to system maintenance in 2017. The strategy relies on analyzing data collected across thousands of miles of line and isolating the worst-performing segments. Targeted maintenance projects are then scheduled to improve the performance for that segment. 

One example of this strategy is the co-op’s drone maintenance program. The program began in United Power’s mountain territory, where accessing poles and infrastructure can be difficult and time consuming due to the rugged terrain and weather. Drones can quickly conduct detailed investigations and document broken, failing, or aging equipment. Drones have saved the cooperative countless hours and prevented hundreds of potential outages. Since completing initial inspections in Coal Creek Canyon and Golden Gate Canyon, the drone maintenance program has been used throughout the entire service territory.

Advanced Monitoring Technology

Preventative maintenance would not be possible without automated monitoring devices embedded throughout the system that report irregularities and potential concerns. These devices capture important information to help system operators determine the best power restoration process in the event of an outage and can help crews in the field pinpoint the time and location of a fault. 

The ability to quickly locate a fault, identify its cause, and restore power to members, often remotely due to redundancies built into the system for this very purpose, has significantly improved the cooperative’s outage response and reduced the duration of outages. Identifying problematic areas would be difficult without this information and could create additional delays in power restoration because lineworkers would need to physically inspect miles of line to locate and repair the cause. 

Readying for the Power Supply Transition

United Power will be transitioning to new power suppliers on May 1 as the cooperative exits its existing power supply contract. United Power’s robust distribution system is ready to take the cooperative into the future of our new energy supply. This transition will have no impact on the system’s reliability. 

The added flexibility of additional power supply contracts as the cooperative grows may even improve system performance in the long term with the ability to make proactive infrastructure upgrades. 

United Power is already among the best performing electric utilities in the country, and leadership at the co-op is continually seeking to improve its system reliability and resiliency. Whether it is proactive maintenance strategies, automated devices, or other system improvements, the cooperative is always looking for ways to improve and meet member expectations.

Members Invited to Meet the Candidates Event on March 19

Brighton, CO – Five candidates are running for election to the United Power Board of Directors. This year, four positions on the board are up for election. The director candidates are Stephen Whiteside (incumbent) in the Mountain District; Brian A. McCormick (incumbent) in the North District; Tim Erickson (incumbent) and Paige Wagner-Maul in the Central District; and Brad Case (incumbent) in the South District.

United Power will host a Meet the Candidates event at its Brighton Headquarters where members can learn more about each candidate vying to serve on the Board of Directors. The event is open to all members and does not require an RSVP. Event details are as follows: 

Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.)
United Power Headquarters Office
500 Cooperative Way, Brighton, CO 80603

The Meet the Candidates event will be livestreamed here, with the event video available on the cooperative’s website the following day.

Directors represent all members and are therefore elected on an “at-large” basis. This means members may cast a vote for a director in each district and not just their own. United Power encourages all members to vote online or return their mail ballots prior to the April 16 deadline.

Statements from each of the candidates will be published in the cooperative’s newsletter, the United Newsline, delivered in March, and on its website. Director candidate contribution reports will also be available online.

A bylaw amendment is included on this year’s ballot regarding the length of a director’s term. A vote in favor of the amendment (“yes”) will lengthen the term from three years to four years. 

Ballots will be mailed to all members on March 15, and online balloting opens through the member portal the same day. Members may vote electronically through their online account or via mail ballots. A drop box will be available for members to return their ballots in person at Riverdale Regional Park between noon and 4 p.m. the day of the Annual Meeting. Members may also vote in person beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Results of the director election will be announced at the 2024 Annual Meeting and 85th Anniversary Celebration, which will be held on April 17 at the Riverdale Regional Park & Fairgrounds and livestreamed on United Power’s website. Registration opens at 4:30 p.m. and on-site balloting closes at the beginning of the official business meeting at 6:30 p.m. All members are invited to attend and engage with cooperative leadership, connect with fellow members, and celebrate the cooperative’s 85th anniversary. 

About United Power

United Power is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative, delivering electricity to homes, farms, and businesses throughout Colorado’s northern front range. The cooperative is one of the fastest-growing electric co-ops in the nation, and in June 2021 joined the elite ranks of cooperatives serving more than 100,000 meters. The 900-square mile service territory extends from the mountains of Coal Creek and Golden Gate Canyon, along the I-25 corridor and Carbon Valley region, to the farmlands of Brighton, Hudson, and Keenesburg. United Power is also a founding member of the NextGen Cooperative Alliance, which is dedicated to expanding the power supply and procurement options available to distribution co-ops and reforming the traditional generation and transmission business model. For more information about United Power, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow the cooperative on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram.

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