Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Colorado’s Touchstone Energy co-ops support St. Jude kids

Published on May 13, 2011 in General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Tri-State G&T is teaming up with Morgan County REA, Mountain View Electric, Poudre Valley REA and United Power to present KYGO radio’s Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon on Friday, May 20.

This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than ever, and will broadcast live from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the new Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Denver.  Surprise celebrity visits are expected, along with a military presence, a 30-person phone bank and a live acoustic concert featuring Lee Brice, Ashton Shepard, David Nail and Gloriana that will follow the radiothon.  A percentage of all sales throughout the day will benefit St. Jude’s, so plan to stop by and enjoy some great food while supporting a worthy cause.

St. Jude's is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.   Plus, it’s the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance and no child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay.

Colorado’s Front Range Touchstone Energy cooperatives are proud to have supported the mission of St. Jude’s for more than eight years.  Plan to listen – and donate – at 98.5FM KYGO or www.KYGO.com.

Touchstone Energy balloon rises up in Colorado

Published on May 11, 2011 in General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , .

The Touchstone Energy hot air balloon visits Tri-State G&T

The Touchstone Energy hot air balloon landed in Colorado this week in conjunction with CONNECT ’11, NRECA’s annual communications and marketing conference taking place at the Downtown Denver Sheraton hotel May 9-12.

After a quick trip to Loveland Ski Area early Tuesday morning for a rare photo opportunity in the snow-covered Rockies, the balloon and its crew packed up and next stopped by Tri-State’s Westminster headquarters.

All of the photos will be considered for the popular balloon calendar published every year.  ”It was an excellent setting for a photo,” said Kevin Bernson, vice president of media and public relations for the balloon program.  ”The building was beautiful and the sun was perfect,” he said.

The balloon is now on its way to Columbia REA in Washington state where it will fly at the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede.

The balloon visits Loveland pass for a snowy photo in May

The Touchstone Energy hot air balloon is intended to serve as a goodwill ambassador for Touchstone Energy cooperatives. There are five balloons in the fleet, and the two newest balloons stand over 77 feet tall and are 60 feet wide when fully inflated.  Each are built of hyperlife fabric panels and have a 14 cubic foot ascot basket.  The balloons are fired by dual propane burners and fueled by two 15-gallon propane tanks.

 

Tri-State pilot receives lofty honor

Published on May 11, 2011 in General. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Last week, Tri-State senior captain Barry Hitt of the corporate flight operations group was awarded the “Employee of the Year” award at the annual Region 8 Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association convention held in Denver.  Hitt (right) was
bestowed the honor by OSHA’s Region 8 VPP manager Brad Baptiste (left).

The award was given in the multi-state region to only one employee that has excelled in the Volunteer Protection Program (VPP). Tri-State’s corporate flight operations received a VPP “Star” site designation in June of 2010.

Hitt was instrumental in the set-up of that designation and has managed the ongoing VPP program at the hangar since that time. He has encouraged and instructed several different sites at Tri-State as to the advantages of VPP as a work place culture of safety.

Free commercial lighting workshop for members

Published on May 5, 2011 in Energy Efficiency, General and Public Meetings. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Western Area Power Administration publishes a monthly e-newsletter called the Energy Services Bulletin.  The April issue features an upcoming free commercial lighting workshop that Tri-State and Western will host on May 25th.

Keeping in mind that not all low-hanging fruit is created equal, Tri-State G&T and Western have teamed up to show utilities how to take a bite out of the “watermelon” with a Commercial Lighting Workshop, May 25.

Utility employees, key account representatives and member services managers can bring their questions about lighting programs and technologies to this one-day workshop at Tri-State’s Westminster, Colo., headquarters. Western customers and Tri-State member systems don’t need to break their training budgets, either – the workshop is being offered free of charge.

Opportunities abound

Tri-State is shifting its focus from residential to commercial lighting efficiency, partly due to the success of residential programs. Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are now mainstream technology, readily available to consumers at an affordable price. However, the G&T’s recently released energy-efficiency potential study indicated that there was still plenty of room for improvement on the commercial side. “There is a lot of innovation going on in lighting, and it has the potential to make a big difference in businesses’ operating costs,” said Tri-State Energy Marketing Coordinator Keith Emerson.

DMEA’s community solar arrays sell out

Published on May 4, 2011 in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: .

With its first 10,000-watt community solar arrays sold out, the board of Tri-State member co-op Delta-Montrose Electric Association has approved the construction of two more arrays.  The two additional arrays will be stationed along side the current arrays, which are at DMEA’s headquarters in Montrose, Colo., and at the co-op’s Read facility in Delta County.

“We are excited by the members’ enthusiastic response to this program and pleased that our board has swiftly expanded our local power partnership and funded two additional solar arrays,” said Jim Heneghan, DMEA’s renewable energy engineer and community solar array manger. The co-op hopes to have the additional arrays installed by early this summer.

Eighty-four DMEA member-consumers pioneered the local power partnership, leasing portions of the first two arrays in $10 increments. In sum, co-op members invested $75,000 to receive the benefits of solar generated electricity without having to install panels on their own homes or businesses.

Tri-State gets the word out about vandalism dangers

Published on May 2, 2011 in General, Public Outreach and Transmission. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Tri-State is working with Montrose/Grand Junction area newspapers and TV stations to publicize a $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandal(s) who recently shot and damaged more than 25 porcelain transmission insulators attached to power lines located in the East Orchard Mesa area southeast of Grand Junction.

“Shooting these insulators is a risky activity and a felony crime.  Once they are damaged, it could result in the inability for the insulators to provide the necessary protection and subject the public and utility workers to dangerous  conditions,” said Keith Carman, senior manager of transmission system operations for Tri-State.  “It’s a very serious situation that has the potential to cause death to unsuspecting people who might come in contact with a pole that has damaged insulators,” he said.

Vandalism of this type can also interrupt the flow of electricity which serves homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.  Tri-State’s transmission equipment is critical to the delivery of reliable electric power that hundreds of thousands of people in Colorado depend on every hour of every day.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call toll-free 855-829-9008.  Any details are useful and those who call may remain anonymous.