GUNNISON COUNTY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION || POWERING POSSIBILITIES

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2018 YEAR IN REVIEWBY LOGANN LONG || COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR

TThis time of year always brings great things to mind. For us at Gunnison County Electric Association, we like to reflect on some of the highlights of the past year. GCEA had an extremely busy 2018. There were several exciting projects that were completed and some that will continue into the new year.

We started 2018 with the Tri-State Generation and Transmission marketing and communications team visit to film the “Renewable Randy” video. GCEA’s efforts with electric vehicles and the town of Crested Butte’s commitment to green power as well as the Fat Bike World Championships were highlighted in the video. You can check out the video on Facebook.com/GunnisonCountyElectricAssociation.

In February, the scholarship process started and what a process it was this year. Scholarship applications doubled with 89 applicants. We awarded every qualifying member dependent a scholarship, thanks to the generosity of members participating in Operation Round Up, the board of directors, Tri-State Generation and Transmission and Basin Electric Power Cooperative, as well as unclaimed and returned capital credit checks. Each year, the program continues to grow and we are thankful for everyone who continues to help our youth.

We have more than doubled green power subscriptions by kilowatt-hour over the past year. During 2017, we reduced our green power premium by more than 50 percent and, with some marketing, we saw a 75 percent increase in participation. In 2018, we introduced the Green Power Plus Club. Members choosing this option can offset 130 percent of their usage through GCEA’s

Green Power Program in combination with the renewable energy provided by Tri-State. This allows those who choose this option to go above and beyond and make a greater contribution in support of renewable energy. Members can also choose a 100 percent offset option or purchase any number of green power blocks at 100-kWhs each. You can join the Green Power Club by visiting www.gcea.coop.

GCEA also introduced a new feature to its Green Power Program. Twenty-five percent of the amount members pay for green power now goes into a fund to help finance local renewable projects in the future.

Over the last three years, we have introduced electric vehicles to the valley. This year we expanded our electric vehicle fleet by purchasing a 2018 all-electric Chevrolet Bolt and a 2014 Nissan LEAF. You can find employees driving the Bolt around town for work errands and trips. The LEAF joined Spark-e in the electric vehicle loaner program. Our electric car loaner program has received national attention and other rural electric co-ops are interested in following in our footsteps. This year, more than 60 members experienced an EV through the EV loaner program.

To continue the growth of EVs and EV infrastructure, GCEA added three new level II (240-volt) electric vehicle charging stations to the area and upgraded a fourth station with help from the Charge Ahead Colorado grant. The stations are strategically located to enable greater use by existing EVs and encourage EV adoption by other drivers. The National Park Service is providing a site at the Elk Creek Marina, which will reduce the gap between

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GCEA’s Chevy Bolt. New EV charging station at GCEA headquarters. Renewable Randy video shoot in January.

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Scholarship Reminder

Montrose and Gunnison. Almont Resort offered space in its back parking lot. The town of Crested Butte is providing two more parking stalls to accommodate growing demand, this time in the parking lot at First Street and Elk Avenue. Lastly, GCEA upgraded its public headquarters station.

We are excited to offer more renewable energy choices to our members. Recently, the GCEA Board of Directors approved three local renewable projects. With these projects, we can meet the desires of members who want local renewables. The three projects consist of two 0.5-megawatt solar arrays and an expansion of our community solar garden.

Another project that GCEA employees worked on to help members is MDMS (meter data management system). This was implemented this year to manage and analyze data received from

the AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) system. The MDMS validates, edits and estimates usage when the data is missing. This allows GCEA to more accurately evaluate and forecast its system load and perform in-depth analysis of different rate classes for members.

The operations department had a busy 2018, and with the lack of snow and moisture this year, crews were able to start some bigger projects earlier than usual. In January, they started the east rebuild that consisted of approximately 3.4 miles of new line. Work was done while working around energized conductors for the duration of the project. There were several poles set in the wintertime so we did not inconvenience ranchers during the summer. We waited for the hay to be harvested to finish the work. This was the first large overhead project GCEA has done in a long time. It was a learning experience as well.

This fall GCEA also worked on a big project with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association in Lake City. Tree clearing and line maintenance work began August 28 and the majority of the work was finished on October 9.

One of the biggest projects of the year for us was the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program. A team of six inspectors came to evaluate our policies, procedures and facilities. At GCEA we take safety in the workplace seriously. We take pride in our safety policies and procedures. We received high marks this year and will continue to improve our safety program.

At Gunnison County Electric Association, we understand and recognize that our members are what our electric cooperative is all about. The dedicated employees will continue powering possibilities for our consumer-members. This past year was an exciting year and we finish it with high expectations for 2019. Thank you all for being members of your local rural electric cooperative.

If you want more information on the programs mentioned above, please visit www.gcea.coop or call 970-641-3520.

Another school year is here, and it is time to start talking with high school seniors about the importance of a higher education. Each year it gets harder to pay for college, but GCEA is here to help students pursue their dreams of furthering their education. For decades, GCEA has provided scholarship assistance for graduating seniors to pursue an education beyond high school and offers a variety of scholarships to students residing in the service territory. Funding comes from unclaimed capital credits

and generous donations from the GCEA board of directors, Operation Round Up, Tri-State Generation and Transmission and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Last year, 89 students received awards. This year, applications are available in December at the Gunnison and Crested Butte offices, Crested Butte Community School, Gunnison High School, Lake City Community School and online at www.gcea.coop/content/scholarships. Application deadline is Friday, February 1, 2019, by 4:30 p.m.

2018 YEAR IN REVIEW[continued from page 7]

GCEA linemen work on east rebuild.

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NEW MEMBER SUPPORT SPECIALIST

25 YEARS OF SERVICE AWARD

GCEA is excited to welcome a new face to the Gunnison headquarters office. Sarah Taramarcaz began her employment as a member support specialist Monday, October 22. Sarah and her family relocated to Gunnison from the Montrose area.

Sarah grew up in Ridgway and her husband, Matt, is originally from Gunnison. They have two boys who will attend school here in Gunnison. Please stop by the Gunnison office and say hello.

GCEA received a 25-year Length of Service Award from NOAA and NWS (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service) for reporting the weather in the Gunnison area as a volunteer weather spotter.

Weather records, including snow and rainfall amounts, were inconsistent or missing until the weather station was installed at the GCEA HQ where staff could regularly collect data. GCEA is appreciative of the opportunity to continue to provide valuable weather data to NOAA, NWS and the community. Pictured above from left to right are GCEA Employees Jeff Stanley, Marcia Wireman, Alantha Garrison and NOAA’s John Kyle.

Friday, December 21

Christmas Day

Tuesday, December 25

New Years Day

Tuesday, January 1

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POWERING POSSIBILITIES BYOFFERING MEMBERS CHOICES!

IT'S EASY AND CONVENIENT FOR YOU, SAVES YOUR CO-OP

MONEY AND HELPS THE ENVIRONMENT BY REDUCING PAPER

WASTE. MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT ALREADY PARTICIPATING

IN PAPERLESS BILLING AND SIGN UP YOU WILL BE ENTERED

INTO GCEA'S PAPERLESS BILLING CONTEST.  

VISIT HTTPS://GCEA.SMARTHUB.COOP. IF YOU DO NOTALREADY HAVE A USER NAME AND PASSWORD, YOU WILL NEED

TO CREATE ONE. ONCE YOU ARE LOGGED IN, CLICK ON “MYPROFILE,” THEN “UPDATE MY PRINTED BILL SETTINGS” AND

SELECT “TURN OFF PRINTED BILL SETTINGS.”

EACH FISCAL QUARTER, GCEA WILL HOLD A DRAWING FOR MEMBERS

SIGNING UP FOR PAPERLESS BILLING FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THAT

QUARTER. TWO LUCKY WINNERS WILL EACH RECEIVE A $50 VISA GIFT CARD.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHOICES GCEA OFFERS, PLEASE VISIT

WWW.GCEA.COOP.

PAPERLESSBILLING