Energy Awareness Month: Remember to Save
Monday | October 5, 2026
October is National Energy Awareness Month. Here are a few reminders to help you save energy and money this month and every month.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency for 2022
Thursday | January 6, 2022
United Power is committed to providing members with the tools and resources they need to take control of their energy use.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency for a New Year
Monday | January 11, 2021
United Power is committed to providing members with the information and resources they need to take control of their energy usage.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency Myths
Wednesday | March 4, 2020
As a cooperative, United Power wants its members to know how they can use their energy more efficiently and save on their bills.
Read more >
Title
February Message from Mark A. Gabriel
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/Mountains_Lines_1320x860.jpg?h=45932144&itok=eih0_DWa
Monday | February 2, 2026
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Every utility person I have known for nearly three decades is concerned with the critical mission of safely keeping the lights on in the most cost-effective manner possible. It may not feel that way to the public sometimes, as we must deal with everything from weather and equipment shortages to critters getting into lines and vehicle accidents causing the power to go out.
The wild windstorms in mid-December were extreme, and the intensity of the winds unprecedented. However, we prepare for these severe weather events, and in so doing, ensuring the safety of our employees, our members, and our communities is our priority. The lengthy outages that affected many United Power members during this windstorm were the result of the cooperative operating in protective mode for wildfire safety during the back-to-back windstorm events that impacted our mountain territory. In this operating mode, lines are placed in the most sensitive settings, and power is immediately shut off if anything is detected on the system. Before power can be safely restored, crews must complete physical inspections of all power lines and equipment. These inspections are critical for public safety and can take time — particularly when outages are widespread and restoration can be delayed when damage is found.
We know the loss of power means an interruption in our day-to-day routines and our ability to work or go to school. However, it is important also to understand that when a transmission provider opts to shut off power (public safety power shutoff) or when the transmission provider loses power due to a weather event (e.g., damage to lines), United Power’s members may also lose power. The cooperative operates a distribution system, which includes the wires to homes and businesses in our service territory, but United Power does not control the interstate and intrastate transmission lines carrying electricity from faraway places. This is one of the reasons we are focused on hyper-localizing our resources whenever we can to stay off the “big wires.” It is another reason why we have added so many distributed batteries to the system and plan to add more.
We cannot restore service to the local distribution system until transmission has been re-energized. It is important to realize that after outages occur due to storms, we must visually inspect every line on the distribution system. Our brave crews worked for several days to make sure trees were out of the wires. Sometimes our crews would inspect and restore power only to have new branches blown into lines after they had moved on. We must maintain a careful balance between restoring power to homes and businesses and mitigating the threat of wildfires.
We continue investing heavily into our distribution system, deploying the most practical and innovative technology we can. This involves installing coated cables in the mountain territory, and special fusing and sensors systemwide to be able to understand what is happening on our grid in real time. We can only see what is taking place on the distribution side of the United Power system. We do not have visibility to what is occurring on the transmission side — we only know whether power is flowing or not.
The United Power system is one of the most reliable in the nation, and that is one of the reasons outages seem so out of the ordinary. When we do have “normal” outages, they are usually quite short, which makes extended outages seem even more unusual and frustrating to members.
I am so proud of the team at United Power for the work they did during the December wind event and continue to do every day to benefit our members. Our management team has spent time looking at what worked well, what did not work so well, and what we can do to improve when another event occurs.
Every morning when I get up, the first thing I check is whether we kept the lights on for our members and if everyone is safe. Power outages will occur — that is the reality of the system dealing with nature. But we will always be here for our members, ready to get the lights back on.
As always, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments.
Title
February Message from Mark A. Gabriel
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/CEO_Message_85.jpg?h=45932144&itok=fpbFupeq
Monday | February 3, 2025
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Much is being written these days about increasing electric demand in the face of declining central power stations, such as coal plants, and how the electric industry will manage this coming onslaught. People are especially concerned that data centers, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), will cause major problems for the electric grid.
United Power has been blessed with growth for nearly 20 years, and that trend is continuing. One only has to drive around our service territory to see what that growth looks like. Last summer we set a new all-time peak of nearly 650 MW, and this past December we hit nearly 500 MW, making us the largest electric distribution cooperative by load in Colorado and the third largest utility after Xcel and Colorado Springs Utilities.
We added nearly 3,300 meters in 2024 and our monthly electric load has increased consistently. More than 7,600 electric vehicles are registered in our service territory. Whether it is the coming of the new BNSF Intermodal Center in Hudson/Lochbuie, expanding existing data centers, or new residential developments, your cooperative is keeping up.
Recently, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted rules that require midstream gas suppliers reduce greenhouse gasses by 20.5% as compared to a 2015 baseline by 2030. This will require electrification of the oil the gas fields — a process United Power began several years ago. We are partnering with our oil and gas members to help them meet this mandate.
Our service territory is desirable and we regularly receive inquiries from developers and large loads known as hyperscalers (i.e., data centers). These facilities require large electric loads and heavy demand around the clock. The good news is partnering with them will provide additional backup capabilities, as well as allow us to purchase more power at lower costs for all members. Our Key Accounts Advisors are handling those requests and working closely with the engineering and power supply teams to ensure we can meet their energy demands. Millions of square feet of commercial and industrial space has also been added in just the past few years, especially along our interstate corridors.
While some utilities are turning down loads and wringing their hands over the increased demand, United Power believes it is critical to support our members where they are and when they need us. In order to do this, we follow the “LIT” process that involves closely working with potential loads as soon as practical. What does “LIT” involve?
Location. Not every location is suitable to be supplied in a short period of time. Large loads that are moving into our service territory, such as data centers, are able to work with our team to locate areas where we can reasonably provide service within their timeframe.
Investment. Years ago, the United Power Board of Directors decided that “growth pays,” meaning any capital cost is born by the company or developer. This protects members from costs to add facilities — and yet helps lower other costs as we spread overhead across more members.
Timing. Advanced planning is crucial to successfully adding infrastructure and we work closely with potential new members to get ahead of critical items such as ordering transformers, preparing the ground, and making sure we have capacity to handle the new load.
We are excited about this future and will continue to support all members, large and small. Anticipating and planning for electrification is at the heart of Our Cooperative Roadmap.
As always, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments.
Energy Awareness Month: Remember to Save
Monday | October 5, 2026
October is National Energy Awareness Month. Here are a few reminders to help you save energy and money this month and every month.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency for 2022
Thursday | January 6, 2022
United Power is committed to providing members with the tools and resources they need to take control of their energy use.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency for a New Year
Monday | January 11, 2021
United Power is committed to providing members with the information and resources they need to take control of their energy usage.
Read more >
Energy Efficiency Myths
Wednesday | March 4, 2020
As a cooperative, United Power wants its members to know how they can use their energy more efficiently and save on their bills.
Read more >
Title
February Message from Mark A. Gabriel
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/Mountains_Lines_1320x860.jpg?h=45932144&itok=eih0_DWa
Monday | February 2, 2026
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Every utility person I have known for nearly three decades is concerned with the critical mission of safely keeping the lights on in the most cost-effective manner possible. It may not feel that way to the public sometimes, as we must deal with everything from weather and equipment shortages to critters getting into lines and vehicle accidents causing the power to go out.
The wild windstorms in mid-December were extreme, and the intensity of the winds unprecedented. However, we prepare for these severe weather events, and in so doing, ensuring the safety of our employees, our members, and our communities is our priority. The lengthy outages that affected many United Power members during this windstorm were the result of the cooperative operating in protective mode for wildfire safety during the back-to-back windstorm events that impacted our mountain territory. In this operating mode, lines are placed in the most sensitive settings, and power is immediately shut off if anything is detected on the system. Before power can be safely restored, crews must complete physical inspections of all power lines and equipment. These inspections are critical for public safety and can take time — particularly when outages are widespread and restoration can be delayed when damage is found.
We know the loss of power means an interruption in our day-to-day routines and our ability to work or go to school. However, it is important also to understand that when a transmission provider opts to shut off power (public safety power shutoff) or when the transmission provider loses power due to a weather event (e.g., damage to lines), United Power’s members may also lose power. The cooperative operates a distribution system, which includes the wires to homes and businesses in our service territory, but United Power does not control the interstate and intrastate transmission lines carrying electricity from faraway places. This is one of the reasons we are focused on hyper-localizing our resources whenever we can to stay off the “big wires.” It is another reason why we have added so many distributed batteries to the system and plan to add more.
We cannot restore service to the local distribution system until transmission has been re-energized. It is important to realize that after outages occur due to storms, we must visually inspect every line on the distribution system. Our brave crews worked for several days to make sure trees were out of the wires. Sometimes our crews would inspect and restore power only to have new branches blown into lines after they had moved on. We must maintain a careful balance between restoring power to homes and businesses and mitigating the threat of wildfires.
We continue investing heavily into our distribution system, deploying the most practical and innovative technology we can. This involves installing coated cables in the mountain territory, and special fusing and sensors systemwide to be able to understand what is happening on our grid in real time. We can only see what is taking place on the distribution side of the United Power system. We do not have visibility to what is occurring on the transmission side — we only know whether power is flowing or not.
The United Power system is one of the most reliable in the nation, and that is one of the reasons outages seem so out of the ordinary. When we do have “normal” outages, they are usually quite short, which makes extended outages seem even more unusual and frustrating to members.
I am so proud of the team at United Power for the work they did during the December wind event and continue to do every day to benefit our members. Our management team has spent time looking at what worked well, what did not work so well, and what we can do to improve when another event occurs.
Every morning when I get up, the first thing I check is whether we kept the lights on for our members and if everyone is safe. Power outages will occur — that is the reality of the system dealing with nature. But we will always be here for our members, ready to get the lights back on.
As always, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments.
Title
February Message from Mark A. Gabriel
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/CEO_Message_85.jpg?h=45932144&itok=fpbFupeq
Monday | February 3, 2025
Card Teaser
A message to United Power members from the cooperative's President & Chief Executive Officer.
Much is being written these days about increasing electric demand in the face of declining central power stations, such as coal plants, and how the electric industry will manage this coming onslaught. People are especially concerned that data centers, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), will cause major problems for the electric grid.
United Power has been blessed with growth for nearly 20 years, and that trend is continuing. One only has to drive around our service territory to see what that growth looks like. Last summer we set a new all-time peak of nearly 650 MW, and this past December we hit nearly 500 MW, making us the largest electric distribution cooperative by load in Colorado and the third largest utility after Xcel and Colorado Springs Utilities.
We added nearly 3,300 meters in 2024 and our monthly electric load has increased consistently. More than 7,600 electric vehicles are registered in our service territory. Whether it is the coming of the new BNSF Intermodal Center in Hudson/Lochbuie, expanding existing data centers, or new residential developments, your cooperative is keeping up.
Recently, the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted rules that require midstream gas suppliers reduce greenhouse gasses by 20.5% as compared to a 2015 baseline by 2030. This will require electrification of the oil the gas fields — a process United Power began several years ago. We are partnering with our oil and gas members to help them meet this mandate.
Our service territory is desirable and we regularly receive inquiries from developers and large loads known as hyperscalers (i.e., data centers). These facilities require large electric loads and heavy demand around the clock. The good news is partnering with them will provide additional backup capabilities, as well as allow us to purchase more power at lower costs for all members. Our Key Accounts Advisors are handling those requests and working closely with the engineering and power supply teams to ensure we can meet their energy demands. Millions of square feet of commercial and industrial space has also been added in just the past few years, especially along our interstate corridors.
While some utilities are turning down loads and wringing their hands over the increased demand, United Power believes it is critical to support our members where they are and when they need us. In order to do this, we follow the “LIT” process that involves closely working with potential loads as soon as practical. What does “LIT” involve?
Location. Not every location is suitable to be supplied in a short period of time. Large loads that are moving into our service territory, such as data centers, are able to work with our team to locate areas where we can reasonably provide service within their timeframe.
Investment. Years ago, the United Power Board of Directors decided that “growth pays,” meaning any capital cost is born by the company or developer. This protects members from costs to add facilities — and yet helps lower other costs as we spread overhead across more members.
Timing. Advanced planning is crucial to successfully adding infrastructure and we work closely with potential new members to get ahead of critical items such as ordering transformers, preparing the ground, and making sure we have capacity to handle the new load.
We are excited about this future and will continue to support all members, large and small. Anticipating and planning for electrification is at the heart of Our Cooperative Roadmap.
As always, feel free to reach out to me personally with any questions or comments.
