BY JIM HERRON CEO | [email protected] lot can happen in ... · Tri-State Announces Energy Portfolio...
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BY JIM HERRON CEO | [email protected] JIM HERRON COLORADO’S EVOLVING ENERGY LANDSCAPE UPDATE Tri-State Announces Energy Portfolio and Regulation Changes A lot can happen in one month. Last month, I spoke about Colorado’s evolving energy landscape, of large- scale policy change driven by the decreasing cost of renewable energy, and the increasing support for an energy portfolio change by Colorado’s elected officials backed by public expectation. In that same article, I shared that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Mountain View Electric Association, Inc.’s wholesale power supplier, is a recognized national renewable energy leader. As a power provider to 43 electric cooperatives in four states, including 18 in Colorado, Tri-State must balance the evolving energy landscape, costs of regulatory change, and public expectations for renewable energy with its mission of providing reliable electricity to its co-op members. No sooner did that article go to print in early July, than Tri-State made two very important announcements that will influence Colorado’s energy landscape. In mid-July, it announced its plans to pursue a Responsible Energy Plan to transition to “a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates.” e next week, it announced plans to file for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rate regulation, a move that will, among other factors, support its Responsible Energy Plan by “providing consistent and predictable rate regulation.” Responsible Energy Plan Overview Tri-State’s board of directors passed several resolutions to support the development of a plan that will guide the cooperative in its energy transition. Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan will set goals and pathways to: • Comply with aggressive carbon reduction, renewable energy and resource planning requirements. • Ensure the reliability and affordability of Tri-State’s wholesale power system. • Strive to lower wholesale rates while maintaining Tri-State’s strong financial position. Tri-State Chief Executive Officer Duane Highley shared additional insight about the energy transition. “Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan will define how wholesale cooperatives leverage disruptive technology opportunities to strengthen and empower members and the communities they serve. We will be clean, reliable, flexible and affordable, and do it all within our not-for- profit cooperative business model.” FERC Rate Regulation Overview Tri-State has considered FERC regulation since 2010, as both Colorado and New Mexico exercised wholesale rate jurisdiction over Tri-State, which resulted in increased costs, unrecovered revenue and inconsistent rates to its members. Serving as a wholesale power supplier to electric co-ops in four states, meant Tri-State had to navigate the bureaucracy of four states. FERC rate regulation pre-empts individual state rate regulation for generation rates, transmission rates, rate design and all other rate-related matters. Highley recently summarized the overall benefit of FERC regulation. “If Tri-State is to be rate regulated, it makes sense to be regulated by a single regulatory body that would apply consistent rates to Tri-State’s members in each of our four states.” What do these changes mean to MVEA members? According to Tri-State’s leadership and board of director’s these changes were made with the membership in mind. ey are unified in their goal to create a lower-cost wholesale power portfolio that is both clean and reliable. e change to FERC rate regulation will circumvent the challenges of serving electric co-ops in four states. Looking ahead, these changes are progressive, but there is still some uncertainty into how the clean grid changes in the Responsible Energy Plan will be implemented using innovative technology in a way that decreases current wholesale power rates. No time flies as fast as the present, and the changes within the industry are happening faster than ever before. I encourage all MVEA members to visit www.tristate.coop/ cleangrid to learn more about the changes outlined in this article. In July, MVEA’s wholesale power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, announced plans to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates. Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan Learn More, Visit ➝ www.tristate.coop/cleangrid Tri-State’s Cooperative Approach To A Cleaner Energy Portfolio • Developing a Responsible Energy Plan to comply with aggressive carbon reduction, renewable energy and resource planning requirements, ensure reliability and affordability, and strive to lower wholesale rates while maintaining our strong financial position. • Engaging with former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and the Center for the New Energy Economy to facilitate a stakeholder process that will contribute to Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan. • Creating more opportunities for Tri-State members to develop local renewable energy by considering the types of memberships and contracts offered. • Increasing renewable resources, with new wind and solar projects, and requests for proposals for even more projects. • Exploring opportunities with solar and energy services providers to make community-scale solar, energy storage and electric vehicle infrastructure more available to our members at a lower cost. Source: Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association 7 COLORADO COUNTRY LIFE SEPTEMBER 2019 YOUR CO-OP NEWS
Transcript of BY JIM HERRON CEO | [email protected] lot can happen in ... · Tri-State Announces Energy Portfolio...
BY JIM HERRON CEO | [email protected]
JIM HERRON
COLORADO’S EVOLVING ENERGY LANDSCAPE UPDATETri-State Announces Energy Portfolio and Regulation Changes
A lot can happen in one month. Last month, I spoke about Colorado’s evolving energy landscape, of large-
scale policy change driven by the decreasing cost of renewable energy, and the increasing support for an energy portfolio change by Colorado’s elected officials backed by public expectation. In that same article, I shared that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Mountain View Electric Association, Inc.’s wholesale power supplier, is a recognized national renewable energy leader. As a power provider to 43 electric cooperatives in four states, including 18 in Colorado, Tri-State must balance the evolving energy landscape, costs of regulatory change, and public expectations for renewable energy with its mission of providing reliable electricity to its co-op members.
No sooner did that article go to print in early July, than Tri-State made two very important announcements that will influence Colorado’s energy landscape. In mid-July, it announced its plans to pursue a Responsible Energy Plan to transition to “a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates.” The next week, it announced plans to file for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rate regulation, a move that will, among other factors, support its Responsible Energy Plan by “providing consistent and predictable rate regulation.”
Responsible Energy Plan OverviewTri-State’s board of directors passed several resolutions to support the development of a plan that will guide the cooperative in its energy transition. Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan will set goals and pathways to:• Comply with aggressive carbon
reduction, renewable energy and resource planning requirements.
• Ensure the reliability and affordability of Tri-State’s wholesale power system.
• Strive to lower wholesale rates while maintaining Tri-State’s strong financial position.Tri-State Chief Executive Officer Duane
Highley shared additional insight about the energy transition. “Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan will define how wholesale cooperatives leverage disruptive technology opportunities to strengthen and empower members and the communities they serve. We will be clean, reliable, flexible and affordable, and do it all within our not-for-profit cooperative business model.”FERC Rate Regulation OverviewTri-State has considered FERC regulation since 2010, as both Colorado and New Mexico exercised wholesale rate jurisdiction over Tri-State, which resulted in increased costs, unrecovered revenue and inconsistent rates to its members. Serving as a wholesale power supplier to electric co-ops in four states, meant Tri-State had to navigate the bureaucracy of four states. FERC rate regulation pre-empts individual state rate
regulation for generation rates, transmission rates, rate design and all other rate-related matters. Highley recently summarized the overall benefit of FERC regulation. “If Tri-State is to be rate regulated, it makes sense to be regulated by a single regulatory body that would apply consistent rates to Tri-State’s members in each of our four states.”
What do these changes mean to MVEA members? According to Tri-State’s leadership and board of director’s these changes were made with the membership in mind. They are unified in their goal to create a lower-cost wholesale power portfolio that is both clean and reliable. The change to FERC rate regulation will circumvent the challenges of serving electric co-ops in four states. Looking ahead, these changes are progressive, but there is still some uncertainty into how the clean grid changes in the Responsible Energy Plan will be implemented using innovative technology in a way that decreases current wholesale power rates.
No time flies as fast as the present, and the changes within the industry are happening faster than ever before. I encourage all MVEA members to visit www.tristate.coop/cleangrid to learn more about the changes outlined in this article.
In July, MVEA’s wholesale power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, announced plans to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member fl exibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates.
Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan
Learn More, Visit ➝www.tristate.coop/cleangrid
Tri-State’s Cooperative Approach To A Cleaner Energy Portfolio• Developing a Responsible Energy Plan to comply with aggressive carbon reduction,
renewable energy and resource planning requirements, ensure reliability and affordability, and strive to lower wholesale rates while maintaining our strong fi nancial position.
• Engaging with former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and the Center for the New Energy Economy to facilitate a stakeholder process that will contribute to Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan.
• Creating more opportunities for Tri-State members to develop local renewable energy by considering the types of memberships and contracts offered.
• Increasing renewable resources, with new wind and solar projects, and requests for proposals for even more projects.
• Exploring opportunities with solar and energy services providers to make community-scale solar, energy storage and electric vehicle infrastructure more available to our members at a lower cost. So
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YOUR CO-OP NEWS
M ount ain Vie w E le c t r ic Association, Inc., is excited to host a third $500 Whole Home
LED Lighting Giveaway for its cooperative members. In the past two years, MVEA has installed LED lights in seven members’ homes. The program has been so well received that this year MVEA selected six members’ homes for an entire home LED install!
MVEA’s 2019 winners of a whole-home lighting package are:
• Cheryl Dempsey, Colorado Springs • Bret Haycock, Falcon • Lunita Ferguson, Monument • Mary Freeman, Elizabeth • Larry Laughlin, Colorado Springs • Donald Stenger, Peyton Our first winner spotlight is Bret
Haycock. He’s been a member of MVEA for 15 years and was excited about winning the giveaway and having 88 LED bulbs installed, courtesy of MVEA.
“It’s always nice to win something!” Bret said. “I think this program is a great benefit for members. As my old light bulbs have burnt out, I’ve been replacing them with LEDs, but it’s really nice to have it all done
at once.” Not only is Bret a member of MVEA,
but he also interacts with the cooperative through his construction work.
“MVEA is a great provider in the area,” Bret said. “They are great to work with and to be a member of.”
One of MVEA’s goals is to make sure every member takes advantage of the energy efficiency programs that are offered — espe-cially for LED light bulbs as 2019 is the last year rebates will be offered for these energy efficient bulbs.
Myles Jensen with Tri-State Generation and Transmission, MVEA’s wholesale power supplier, said it is discontinuing the LED bulb rebates, “because, the number of appli-cations for LED rebates has dropped off substantially in the last year. Additionally, the cost of LED bulbs have also been drop-ping. We will be using the money spent on LED rebates towards other energy efficiency products in the future.”
When MVEA members participate in energy efficiency programs, they not only use less electricity, they are also helping to reduce the overall demand for electricity within the co-op’s service territory. Energy
efficiency helps us all save. If you want to learn how you can
save energy or to participate in MVEA’s rebate program, which offers rebates for LED lighting and modern energy effi-cient appliances, visit: www.mvea.coop/save-energy-money.
BY ERICA MEYER COMMUNICATIONS OUTREACH COORDINATOR
Kevin Holbrook (left), MVEA key accounts representative, installs 88 LED bulbs in Bret Haycock’s home in Falcon.
$500 Whole Home LED Lighting Giveaway Winner Spotlight: Bret Haycock, Falcon
• Replace any light bulb, especially ones that burn more than 1 hour per day, with an LED bulb.
• Seal from the inside. Air sealing is an inexpensive way to lower energy costs and improve comfort. Seal gaps and holes in walls, floors and
ceilings with caulk or foam sealant. Look for cracks around windows and where wires and pipes pass through.
• Plug electronic devices such as cable boxes, printers and TVs into power strips to turn off during vacations or long periods without use. Smart power strips make it an easy task to save money.
• On sunny days, close shades and drapes during the day to help keep your home cooler in the summer, and open them to keep your home warmer in the winter.
• A 1 degree increase in heating setpoint or reduction in cooling setpoint can increase energy use by 3 – 5%.
Source: www.touchstoneenergy.com.
Do A Little. Save A lot.Energy Efficiency Tips:
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YOUR CO-OP NEWS
Telephone NumbersToll-Free: (800) 388-9881
(719) 495-2283 • (719) 775-2861
Credit Card Pay-By-Phone(877) 999-3415
Falcon Office11140 E. Woodmen Road
Falcon, CO 80831
Limon Office1655 5th Street • P.O. Box 1600
Limon, CO 80828
Monument Office 15706 Jackson Creek Parkway, Suite 100
Monument, CO 80132
Office Hours Monday - Thursday 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
A Member-Owned Cooperative
Local. Trusted. Serving You.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joseph D. Martin, District 1 President
Barry R. Springer, District 6 Vice President
Milton L. Mathis, District 4 Secretary-Treasurer
Donna J. Andersen-Van Ness, District 7 Assistant Secretary
Rick L. Gordon, District 2, Director
Errol Hertneky, District 3, Director
Kevin L. Paddock, District 5, Director
Stay Connected: Like. Follow. Share.www.facebook.com/MVEAInc
Search for: Mountain View Electric Assn. Inc.
www.twitter.com/MVEAInc
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Visit our website: www.mvea.coop
Questions? Contact Erica Meyer, (719) 494-2654, [email protected].
High School Juniors Win a Summer TripElectric Cooperative Youth Tour & Youth Leadership CampHigh school juniors are just 500 words away from a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime all-expenses paid trip. Top-placed winners will receive either a trip to Washington D.C., with more than 1,800 students from across the U.S. for the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, or will be invited to the Colorado Electric Education Institute’s Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in the mountains outside of Steamboat Springs. Visit www.mvea.coop/essay-contest for contest qualifications and to complete an entry form. Deadline: Thursday, November 14, 2019.
High School Seniors Win a ScholarshipNeed Cash For College? $27,000 In Scholarships AvailableMVEA’s scholarship program includes scholarships to accredited colleges, universities, junior or community colleges, as well as a Vocational/Technical Scholarship. Additional scholarships include two Power Lineman Scholarships for students pursuing a career through a lineman training program, as well as a Power Engineer Scholarship for current college students pursuing a power engineering career.Visit www.mvea.coop/scholarships to learn more. Deadline: Wednesday, January 15, 2020.
We Don’t Just Brighten Homes, We Brighten Futures.
A Member-Owned Cooperative
9COLORADO COUNTRY LIFESEPTEMBER 2019
YOUR CO-OP NEWS
17th Annual Slavic FestFor directions and more
information contact:Butch Sakala
719-332-2796 (cell)719-347-2336 (home)
Jean Mikita719-347-2509 (home)
www.holydormition.net
Traditional Slavic & Czech Food • Bake Sale • Live Dancing & Entertainment • Eastern European & Orthodox Items
Saturday, October 12 • 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, October 13 • 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
St. Mary’s Orthodox Church19485 N. Calhan Hwy. Calhan, CO 80808
L ife is fast, and it can be hectic, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Paying your Mountain View Electric Association, Inc. bill shouldn’t be a complex task, and with
our SmartHub web and mobile app, it won’t be.SmartHub is available through MVEA’s website, www.mvea.
coop, and as a mobile app through the Apple App Store (iOS devices) or Google Play Marketplace (Android devices). SmartHub has several features that make managing your account as easy as possible. Whether through the web, or your smartphone or tablet (Android or iOS), you can pay your bill, view your electric use, report an outage, and contact an MVEA member services representative.
Making payments through SmartHub is fast and easy. As soon as you log in, you can view your billing history and make a payment with just a couple of clicks…or taps, if you’re using the app. You can see your current bill, along with bills from the previous month or even the previous year, if you want to compare costs. Not only can you see your billing history, but you can view your actual use. You can see how your use is trending over time, which allows you to better understand your bill, monitor electric use, and become more energy efficient. Don’t delay, get started today!
Manage all aspects of your Mountain View Electric Association, Inc. account!
Quick. Easy. SmartHub.Account Management at Your Fingertips
SimplifyWithSmartHub
www.smarthubapp.com
þ Safe & Secure Account Access 24/7þ Make & Schedule Payments*þ Report Outages & Service Issuesþ Set-up SMS Text & Email Notificationsþ Set-up Payment Remindersþ Go Paperless and/or Bank Account Auto-pay & Receive a Monthly Credit.
*To keep your account current, schedule payments to be received by the monthly due date and equal to the total amount due on the monthly bill to avoid additional fees or penalties.
Smart Communication with SmartHub
Make The Switch & Save Every MonthGo paperless through SmartHub, or bank account auto-pay, save up to $1 per month, and get automatically entered into a quarterly Apple® iPad® drawing! To learn more, visit:www.mvea.coop/payment-options.
Apple® iPad® Promotion Runs Through 2019.
10 COLORADO COUNTRY LIFE SEPTEMBER 2019
YOUR CO-OP NEWS
