Title
United Power Hosts Members at Carbon Valley Open House Celebration
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/CV_OpenHouse.jpg?itok=OZi1MSiA
Monday | August 30, 2021
Card Teaser
United Power joined a small group of elite cooperatives in June when it surpassed 100,000 meters served off its lines. To celebrate, the co-op hosted an Open House Celebration for members at its Carbon Valley Service Center on August 28.
Open House Celebrated Co-op Surpassing 100,000 Meters in June
Brighton, CO – United Power joined a small group of elite cooperatives in June when it surpassed 100,000 meters served off its lines. It became just the second Colorado co-op, and 31st nationally, to cross the meter milestone. To commemorate the achievement, the co-op hosted an Open House Celebration for members at its Carbon Valley Service Center, located off the I-25 Frontage Road just west of Firestone and Frederick, on August 28.
Several hundred members attended the Open House Celebration, which featured a variety of family-friendly activities, educational opportunities and prize giveaways. It was the first in-person member event the cooperative has hosted since the pandemic began in March 2020. The come-and-go structure of the event enabled members to maintain social distancing by discouraging crowds and allowing attendees to walk through at their own leisure. Breakfast and refreshments were also provided as attendees made their way through the exhibits.
“It is important that we as a cooperative get back to our roots of engaging and interacting with our members,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This was the perfect platform to showcase our newest facility and celebrate our historic meter accomplishment with our members while also accounting for their health and safety.”
United Power packed its garage with interactive exhibits to give members a hands-on experience with everything from electrical safety to electric vehicle ownership. The cooperative’s well-known safety demonstration team kicked things off near the event entrance before a series of large equipment and bucket trucks funneled attendees toward an EV demonstration at the garage’s northeast doors. Northern Colorado Clean Cities provided several EVs available for short test drives with attendees. Outside, attendees were offered a brief informational presentation about the cooperative’s battery storage facility followed by a tour. Originally energized in 2019, the battery storage facility remains the largest in Colorado.
Inside the Carbon Valley Service Center, the community room was transformed into a series of educational booths where attendees could enter to win prizes, learn more about member-exclusive programs and engage with United Power experts on things like energy efficiency. Attendees could also present questions and win prizes from the cooperative’s board of directors.
“We are so excited and thankful to be able to celebrate 100,000 meters with our members in person,” said Ursula Morgan, United Power’s Board Chairman. “After more than a year away, we could not have been happier to see and interact with them again, especially for such a big occasion. Without our members, there is no cooperative. There is no United Power.”
United Power members who attended the event were eligible to win one of ten $100 bill credit prizes, announced following the event’s conclusion. Members also donated canned and packaged food for to the Carbon Valley Help Center, which provides food and clothing to those in need in and around the Carbon Valley area.
Earlier this summer, United Power honored its 100,000 meter family, John and Hailey Takacs and their son Drake, at their new home in Commerce City’s fast-growing Reunion community. Cooperative board members and cooperative leadership, along with Commerce City Mayor Ben Huseman and Tri Pointe homes representative Mariel Schlander, presented the Takacs’ with a prize package containing home essentials, such as a variety of tools and home equipment, including an electric lawn mower.
“We are adding meters at an unprecedented rate,” Gabriel said. “But more importantly, we are adding members. Each new meter represents a new family on our lines or a new business helping shape the economy of the communities we serve. Our members make us stronger, and they make our communities stronger. As your cooperative, it is our privilege to be able to serve each one of our members.”
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 cooperatives in the nation, and in June 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. For more information about the cooperative, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow them on social media Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
###
United Power Joins National Organization GridWise Alliance
Thursday | July 22, 2021
United Power is now a member of the GridWise Alliance, a national organization which helps foster relationships among a diverse group of industry stakeholders and advocates for public policy changes that benefit grid modernization.
Read more >
Title
United Power Joins Rebuild Effort
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/Nov2020_NL_RebuildMPE.jpg?itok=k1UA-ReU
Thursday | November 12, 2020
Card Teaser
East Troublesome Fire and strong winds badly damage Granby cooperative’s infrastructure.
United Power dispatched a crew to Granby to assist Mountain Parks Electric in its rebuild effort after receiving significant damage from the East Troublesome Fire in late October. United Power joins four other cooperatives as part of the rebuild in coordination with the Colorado Rural Electric Association.
The East Troublesome Fire erupted north of Granby and west of Grand Lake on October 14. Fueled by strong winds and beetle kill, the fire quickly turned into a blaze that consumed more than 100,000 acres overnight. As a result of the fire and winds, Mountain Parks Electric, the cooperative serving residents in the area, reported nearly 500 damaged or destroyed poles, not including damage to other critical infrastructure, miles of line and meters.
Mechanics crews at United Power helped put together a fleet including many essential pieces of equipment to make the rebuild as quick and safe as possible. Crews are expected to spend the next two weeks helping rebuild the most critical elements of Mountain Parks’ infrastructure.
Other cooperatives assisting in the rebuild are Gunnison County Electric, Highline Electric, Southeast Colorado Power and White River Electric. Cooperatives work together to strengthen one another and more effectively serve our members.
United Power Launches EV Charging Pilot Program
Monday | July 25, 2022
United Power has launched United EV, a new charging-as-a-service pilot program designed to provide cost-effective, at-home charging solutions for cooperative members with electric vehicles (EVs).
Read more >
Title
United Power Lineman to Help Power Guatemala
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/05_04_2018_Guatemala.png?itok=8ngelyuC
Friday | May 4, 2018
Card Teaser
United Power Journeyman Lineman, Kelly Snow, is among seven volunteer linemen selected by the Colorado Rural Electric Association to support a program to help electrify remote communities in northwestern Guatemala this fall.
United Power Journeyman Lineman, Kelly Snow, is among seven volunteer linemen selected by the Colorado Rural Electric Association to support a program to help electrify remote communities in northwestern Guatemala this fall.
The Colorado crew will join eight linemen from co-ops in Oklahoma on a joint project coordinated through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s philanthropic NRECA International Foundation.
“We’re very excited about this inaugural CREA-sponsored project in Guatemala,” said CREA Executive Director Kent Singer. “Our group includes outstanding co-op linemen, who will volunteer their time and expertise to bring much needed electricity to people and communities who have never experienced it before.”
The volunteers will build power lines in the village of Pie del Cerro and, potentially, in neighboring Tierra Blanca Salinas. Both communities are located far from larger population areas near a rain forest in the Ixcan region, close to the Mexican border. Collectively, the communities have about 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers — all without access to reliable and affordable electricity. The local residents live in small one or two room homes without running water, refrigeration or the use of electronic appliances for household chores or business services. Farming is the local industry; they produce corn, beans cardamom seeds, cocoa and vegetables.
A local utility, Empresa Municipal Rural de Electricidad (EMRE), based in Playa Grande, Ixcan, will maintain the power lines once they are built. The project will consist of 130 poles and two transformers on 4.34 miles of primary line and 3.86 miles of secondary line. Most of the terrain will be flat, but about 1 mile of line will be built through dense rain forest growth. Each home will receive at least two light bulbs and two electrical outlets.
“We’re proud to have Kelly representing United Power on this very worthy project,” said Bryant Robbins, Chief Operations Officer. “Electrifying rural communities is the foundation that electric cooperatives were formed, and it’s part of our ongoing commitment to communities around the world.”
A selection committee consisting of CREA staff members and two board members from CREA’s Colorado Electric Educational Institute interviewed applicants and selected six co-op linemen and two alternates for the trip. The seventh spot will be filled by CREA Director of Safety and Loss Control Dale Kishbaugh.
“Thanks to all of the linemen who were interested in participating in this trip,” Singer said. “It is great to see how many of our co-op family were willing to leave their homes for an extended period for such a grueling trip to help others in another country. This project will bring economic possibilities to these villages, as well as better access to education and enhanced safety and lifestyles.”
Volunteers selected for the project include: Christian Baker, Holy Cross Energy, Glenwood Springs,Springs; Kris Barbee, Southeast Colorado Power Association, La Junta; Ben Ludington, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, Fort Collins; Kelly Snow, United Power, Brighton; Chet Stickler, Holy Cross, Glenwood Springs; and Nate Towne, Mountain Parks Electric, Granby.
Alternates are Chris Stanworth, White River Electric; and Baker McKonly, La Plata Electric Association, Durango.
CREA is the statewide trade association for Colorado’s 22 electric cooperatives and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
Title
United Power Lineman Traveling to Guatemala in September
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/05_04_2018_Guatemala_0.png?itok=kl_tk0ER
Monday | September 3, 2018
Card Teaser
Veteran United Power lineman Kelly Snow has been selected to join five other Colorado linemen and eight Oklahoma linemen to bring power to two remote jungle villages in Guatemala this September.
Veteran United Power lineman Kelly Snow has been selected to join five other Colorado linemen and eight Oklahoma linemen to bring power to two remote jungle villages in Guatemala this September.
The villages, Pel del Cerro and Tierra Blanca Salinas, are located in the Ixcán region of northwestern Guatemala and do not have access to reliable and affordable electricity. The communities are home to approximately 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back in such a rewarding way,” Kelly Snow said. “Most of us have never had to know a day without electricity. I can only imagine what it would mean to people who’ve never had it before. “
The fifteen member crew will install 130 poles, two transformers and more than eight miles of electrical line without the assistance of modern machinery over the course of the three week project. While most of the terrain will be flat, roughly one mile of the path passes through dense rain forest growth.
“I’ve worked in ice storms, blizzards and floods,” Snow said. “I am well aware of the difficulties of working in adverse conditions. It’s these kinds of challenges that make the project very appealing.”
The project is a joint effort between Colorado and Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives and made possible by NRECA International, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, whose mission is to increase individual and community access to electricity in all parts of the world. Over the past 50 years, NRECA International has provided electricity to more than 126 million people.
The Colorado Rural Electric Association selected the seven-member team representing Colorado in Guatemala following interviews earlier this year. Snow has been with United Power for the past 15 years, and has more than 20 years combined experience.
“The Rural Electric Association was founded on the principal of bringing electricity to rural America,” Snow said. “It’s an inspiration to be a part of that foundation and spreading it to other countries.”
United Power Linemen Wearing FR Face Masks
Friday | April 10, 2020
In recognition of a CDC recommendation to wear masks, United Power line crews are being given masks made locally from extra fire-resistant shirts.
Read more >
Title
United Power Hosts Members at Carbon Valley Open House Celebration
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/CV_OpenHouse.jpg?itok=OZi1MSiA
Monday | August 30, 2021
Card Teaser
United Power joined a small group of elite cooperatives in June when it surpassed 100,000 meters served off its lines. To celebrate, the co-op hosted an Open House Celebration for members at its Carbon Valley Service Center on August 28.
Open House Celebrated Co-op Surpassing 100,000 Meters in June
Brighton, CO – United Power joined a small group of elite cooperatives in June when it surpassed 100,000 meters served off its lines. It became just the second Colorado co-op, and 31st nationally, to cross the meter milestone. To commemorate the achievement, the co-op hosted an Open House Celebration for members at its Carbon Valley Service Center, located off the I-25 Frontage Road just west of Firestone and Frederick, on August 28.
Several hundred members attended the Open House Celebration, which featured a variety of family-friendly activities, educational opportunities and prize giveaways. It was the first in-person member event the cooperative has hosted since the pandemic began in March 2020. The come-and-go structure of the event enabled members to maintain social distancing by discouraging crowds and allowing attendees to walk through at their own leisure. Breakfast and refreshments were also provided as attendees made their way through the exhibits.
“It is important that we as a cooperative get back to our roots of engaging and interacting with our members,” said Mark A. Gabriel, United Power’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This was the perfect platform to showcase our newest facility and celebrate our historic meter accomplishment with our members while also accounting for their health and safety.”
United Power packed its garage with interactive exhibits to give members a hands-on experience with everything from electrical safety to electric vehicle ownership. The cooperative’s well-known safety demonstration team kicked things off near the event entrance before a series of large equipment and bucket trucks funneled attendees toward an EV demonstration at the garage’s northeast doors. Northern Colorado Clean Cities provided several EVs available for short test drives with attendees. Outside, attendees were offered a brief informational presentation about the cooperative’s battery storage facility followed by a tour. Originally energized in 2019, the battery storage facility remains the largest in Colorado.
Inside the Carbon Valley Service Center, the community room was transformed into a series of educational booths where attendees could enter to win prizes, learn more about member-exclusive programs and engage with United Power experts on things like energy efficiency. Attendees could also present questions and win prizes from the cooperative’s board of directors.
“We are so excited and thankful to be able to celebrate 100,000 meters with our members in person,” said Ursula Morgan, United Power’s Board Chairman. “After more than a year away, we could not have been happier to see and interact with them again, especially for such a big occasion. Without our members, there is no cooperative. There is no United Power.”
United Power members who attended the event were eligible to win one of ten $100 bill credit prizes, announced following the event’s conclusion. Members also donated canned and packaged food for to the Carbon Valley Help Center, which provides food and clothing to those in need in and around the Carbon Valley area.
Earlier this summer, United Power honored its 100,000 meter family, John and Hailey Takacs and their son Drake, at their new home in Commerce City’s fast-growing Reunion community. Cooperative board members and cooperative leadership, along with Commerce City Mayor Ben Huseman and Tri Pointe homes representative Mariel Schlander, presented the Takacs’ with a prize package containing home essentials, such as a variety of tools and home equipment, including an electric lawn mower.
“We are adding meters at an unprecedented rate,” Gabriel said. “But more importantly, we are adding members. Each new meter represents a new family on our lines or a new business helping shape the economy of the communities we serve. Our members make us stronger, and they make our communities stronger. As your cooperative, it is our privilege to be able to serve each one of our members.”
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 cooperatives in the nation, and in June 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. For more information about the cooperative, visit www.unitedpower.com or follow them on social media Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
###
United Power Joins National Organization GridWise Alliance
Thursday | July 22, 2021
United Power is now a member of the GridWise Alliance, a national organization which helps foster relationships among a diverse group of industry stakeholders and advocates for public policy changes that benefit grid modernization.
Read more >
Title
United Power Joins Rebuild Effort
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/Nov2020_NL_RebuildMPE.jpg?itok=k1UA-ReU
Thursday | November 12, 2020
Card Teaser
East Troublesome Fire and strong winds badly damage Granby cooperative’s infrastructure.
United Power dispatched a crew to Granby to assist Mountain Parks Electric in its rebuild effort after receiving significant damage from the East Troublesome Fire in late October. United Power joins four other cooperatives as part of the rebuild in coordination with the Colorado Rural Electric Association.
The East Troublesome Fire erupted north of Granby and west of Grand Lake on October 14. Fueled by strong winds and beetle kill, the fire quickly turned into a blaze that consumed more than 100,000 acres overnight. As a result of the fire and winds, Mountain Parks Electric, the cooperative serving residents in the area, reported nearly 500 damaged or destroyed poles, not including damage to other critical infrastructure, miles of line and meters.
Mechanics crews at United Power helped put together a fleet including many essential pieces of equipment to make the rebuild as quick and safe as possible. Crews are expected to spend the next two weeks helping rebuild the most critical elements of Mountain Parks’ infrastructure.
Other cooperatives assisting in the rebuild are Gunnison County Electric, Highline Electric, Southeast Colorado Power and White River Electric. Cooperatives work together to strengthen one another and more effectively serve our members.
United Power Launches EV Charging Pilot Program
Monday | July 25, 2022
United Power has launched United EV, a new charging-as-a-service pilot program designed to provide cost-effective, at-home charging solutions for cooperative members with electric vehicles (EVs).
Read more >
Title
United Power Lineman to Help Power Guatemala
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/05_04_2018_Guatemala.png?itok=8ngelyuC
Friday | May 4, 2018
Card Teaser
United Power Journeyman Lineman, Kelly Snow, is among seven volunteer linemen selected by the Colorado Rural Electric Association to support a program to help electrify remote communities in northwestern Guatemala this fall.
United Power Journeyman Lineman, Kelly Snow, is among seven volunteer linemen selected by the Colorado Rural Electric Association to support a program to help electrify remote communities in northwestern Guatemala this fall.
The Colorado crew will join eight linemen from co-ops in Oklahoma on a joint project coordinated through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s philanthropic NRECA International Foundation.
“We’re very excited about this inaugural CREA-sponsored project in Guatemala,” said CREA Executive Director Kent Singer. “Our group includes outstanding co-op linemen, who will volunteer their time and expertise to bring much needed electricity to people and communities who have never experienced it before.”
The volunteers will build power lines in the village of Pie del Cerro and, potentially, in neighboring Tierra Blanca Salinas. Both communities are located far from larger population areas near a rain forest in the Ixcan region, close to the Mexican border. Collectively, the communities have about 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers — all without access to reliable and affordable electricity. The local residents live in small one or two room homes without running water, refrigeration or the use of electronic appliances for household chores or business services. Farming is the local industry; they produce corn, beans cardamom seeds, cocoa and vegetables.
A local utility, Empresa Municipal Rural de Electricidad (EMRE), based in Playa Grande, Ixcan, will maintain the power lines once they are built. The project will consist of 130 poles and two transformers on 4.34 miles of primary line and 3.86 miles of secondary line. Most of the terrain will be flat, but about 1 mile of line will be built through dense rain forest growth. Each home will receive at least two light bulbs and two electrical outlets.
“We’re proud to have Kelly representing United Power on this very worthy project,” said Bryant Robbins, Chief Operations Officer. “Electrifying rural communities is the foundation that electric cooperatives were formed, and it’s part of our ongoing commitment to communities around the world.”
A selection committee consisting of CREA staff members and two board members from CREA’s Colorado Electric Educational Institute interviewed applicants and selected six co-op linemen and two alternates for the trip. The seventh spot will be filled by CREA Director of Safety and Loss Control Dale Kishbaugh.
“Thanks to all of the linemen who were interested in participating in this trip,” Singer said. “It is great to see how many of our co-op family were willing to leave their homes for an extended period for such a grueling trip to help others in another country. This project will bring economic possibilities to these villages, as well as better access to education and enhanced safety and lifestyles.”
Volunteers selected for the project include: Christian Baker, Holy Cross Energy, Glenwood Springs,Springs; Kris Barbee, Southeast Colorado Power Association, La Junta; Ben Ludington, Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, Fort Collins; Kelly Snow, United Power, Brighton; Chet Stickler, Holy Cross, Glenwood Springs; and Nate Towne, Mountain Parks Electric, Granby.
Alternates are Chris Stanworth, White River Electric; and Baker McKonly, La Plata Electric Association, Durango.
CREA is the statewide trade association for Colorado’s 22 electric cooperatives and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
Title
United Power Lineman Traveling to Guatemala in September
/sites/default/files/styles/news_card_553x430_/public/news/05_04_2018_Guatemala_0.png?itok=kl_tk0ER
Monday | September 3, 2018
Card Teaser
Veteran United Power lineman Kelly Snow has been selected to join five other Colorado linemen and eight Oklahoma linemen to bring power to two remote jungle villages in Guatemala this September.
Veteran United Power lineman Kelly Snow has been selected to join five other Colorado linemen and eight Oklahoma linemen to bring power to two remote jungle villages in Guatemala this September.
The villages, Pel del Cerro and Tierra Blanca Salinas, are located in the Ixcán region of northwestern Guatemala and do not have access to reliable and affordable electricity. The communities are home to approximately 100 households, five churches, two elementary schools and two health centers.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back in such a rewarding way,” Kelly Snow said. “Most of us have never had to know a day without electricity. I can only imagine what it would mean to people who’ve never had it before. “
The fifteen member crew will install 130 poles, two transformers and more than eight miles of electrical line without the assistance of modern machinery over the course of the three week project. While most of the terrain will be flat, roughly one mile of the path passes through dense rain forest growth.
“I’ve worked in ice storms, blizzards and floods,” Snow said. “I am well aware of the difficulties of working in adverse conditions. It’s these kinds of challenges that make the project very appealing.”
The project is a joint effort between Colorado and Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives and made possible by NRECA International, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, whose mission is to increase individual and community access to electricity in all parts of the world. Over the past 50 years, NRECA International has provided electricity to more than 126 million people.
The Colorado Rural Electric Association selected the seven-member team representing Colorado in Guatemala following interviews earlier this year. Snow has been with United Power for the past 15 years, and has more than 20 years combined experience.
“The Rural Electric Association was founded on the principal of bringing electricity to rural America,” Snow said. “It’s an inspiration to be a part of that foundation and spreading it to other countries.”
United Power Linemen Wearing FR Face Masks
Friday | April 10, 2020
In recognition of a CDC recommendation to wear masks, United Power line crews are being given masks made locally from extra fire-resistant shirts.
Read more >
