Monthly Archive for August, 2011

Colorado’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives put charge into Junior Livestock Sale

Published on August 31, 2011 in General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Cody Huwa, 13, parades his grand champion steer, Rooster, around the auction ring with the help of his 2-year-old sister at the Colorado State Fair’s Junior Livestock Sale held on Aug. 30.

The 2011 version of the Junior Livestock Sale at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo had a lot of familiar themes – including a large group of impressive Future Farmers of America and 4-H youth with their array of top-notch home-grown animals, busloads of enthusiastic buyers and the state’s Touchstone Energy cooperatives to sponsor the whole shebang.  At the conclusion of the Aug. 30 event, the kids – most of whom live in rural areas served by Tri-State member co-ops – collectively accumulated more than $415,000 from the deep-pocketed and dedicated bidders made up of business and community leaders from across Colorado.

The annual sale is instrumental in supporting the future of Colorado’s agribusiness as it effectively demonstrates to youth the importance of raising quality livestock and the work required of those who pursue careers in agriculture.  “Because of that,” said Tri-State communications manager Jim Van Someren, “Tri-State, our Colorado member co-ops and CREA feel it’s an important and worthwhile project to jointly support – which we have been doing now for the past six years.”

State fair general manager Chris Wiseman concurred, saying, “The Colorado State Fair is proud to be a part of this important event.  We have generous buying groups from across the state coming together to support the hard work and dedication of our agricultural youth exhibitors.  It is always a wonderful experience.”

The big winner of the annual sale is traditionally the boy or girl who has raised the grand champion steer and this year was no exception.  That distinction went to 13-year-old Cody Huwa and his 1,359-pound steer, Rooster.  For the second straight year, the winning bid maxed out at $53,000 – which Cody
says he will put toward his college savings, along with donating some to his sister’s special-needs cheerleading team.

Cody is an active third-generation farmer/rancher living outside of Roggen, Colo., in Weld County, where both his father (Brent) and grandfather (Richard) are have been longtime member-consumers of Tri-State member co-op Morgan County REA.

The Junior Livestock Sale is the largest 4-H and FFA event of its kind in Colorado.  This year’s participants surpassed the total proceeds raised in 2010
by approximately $55,000.  Read more coverage about the fair and the sale in the Pueblo Chieftain.  The State Fair runs through Labor Day.

 

Public updated on Tri-State’s resource plan

Published on August 30, 2011 in General, Public Meetings, Public Outreach and Resource Planning. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

In keeping with its goal of informing the public about its resource requirements and guidelines, Tri-State staff members held their annual 2011 Electric Resource Planning Public Input Meeting on Monday (Aug.29) at the association’s Hub Thompson Conference Center in Westminster.

Ken Reif, senior vice president and general counsel, discussed the process in which the association will proceed with its filing of the 2011 Electric Resource Plan with the Colorado PUC.

In addition to receiving public input on the association’s updated resource plan, this public forum is held to comply with requirements set forth by the Western Area Power Administration, as well as commitments to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

The presentation and discussions provided to the attendees offered an overview of what was done in the 2010 public participation process, detailed changes that will impact the updated resource plan and offered the audience an opportunity to provide input and comments on Tri-State’s plan.

Those who wish to comment on Tri-State’s electric resource plan also may do so on the association’s Web site through Nov. 1. The final 2011 Electric Resource Plan will be submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission by Nov. 30.

Tri-State staff coordinating and presenting this year’s annual update of the association’s electric resource plan included Sarah Carlisle, Ken Reif, Kevin Cox, Blane Taylor, Mike Stortz, Rob Wolaver and Fred Stoffel.

Transmission transfer assessment underway with Poudre Valley REA

Published on August 29, 2011 in General and Transmission. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Last week personnel from Tri-State’s GIS, engineering and maintenance groups were on site near Lyons, Colo., to assess the first of many member-owned transmission lines that will be transferred to the G&T’s ownership under the low-side member asset transfer project launched last year.

A Tri-State team inspects a Poudre Valley REA H-frame structure along a transmission right-of-way near Lyons, Colo.

The first step in this extensive undertaking – that will ultimately result in Tri-State acquiring up to 260 transformers and 600 miles of transmission lines from the membership – kicked off with an assessment of Poudre Valley’s 115-kV Lyons Tap to Dow Flats line in Boulder County.  John Olson, senior engineer and member of the low-side transition team, said they were on site to make a detailed survey and assessment of the line to determine its overall condition and to compile data on any structures, hardware and other equipment that may require repair or replacement when the assets are transferred to Tri-State.

GIS personnel were on site to assist in imputing details of the line into the Tri-State GIS data base and Poudre Valley personnel were also there to provide local knowledge about the line, such as access points to the line right-of-ways.

To accomplish this assessment, Tri-State personnel will patrol all of the line right-of-ways, examining each structure for condition and damage. That’s no small task, considering that this Poudre Valley acquisition alone is expected to involve the transfer of more than 70 miles of transmission lines and transformers and other high-voltage equipment inside 25 Poudre Valley-owned substations, according to Olson.

More than 70 miles of Poudre Valley REA’s transmission line is slated for acquisition by Tri-State.

A total of 32 member systems have expressed interest in transferring their 100-kV and higher voltage assets to Tri-State. To date two members –Mountain Parks Electric and Gunnison County Electric – have completed asset transfers to Tri-State.

The driving force behind the three-year, low-side asset transfer project is to aggregate the increasingly complex federal regulatory oversight requirements for this equipment from the members to Tri-State and to provide consistent system-wide delivery point practices across Tri-State’s four-state power delivery system.

Tri-State rolls in new banner on web site

Published on August 26, 2011 in General. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Tri-State has been consistently successful in delivering on its core mission of providing reliable, cost-effective and responsible power to its member cooperatives for nearly 60 years.  The association’s ability to do so consists of a combination of many components, including affordability, reliability, adaptability, capability, sustainability and accountability.

On the association’s home page, www.tristate.coop, a new banner of rotating images and text reinforces these different “abilities.”  Featuring photos ranging from small business owners to employees to members’ service territories, the banner emphasizes the importance Tri-State places on its “abilities” and its commitment to keeping electricity affordable.

Construction begins on 2.6 MW hydro project to serve Poudre Valley REA

Published on August 25, 2011 in Renewable Energy. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Construction began at the Carter Lake hydro site in northern Colorado on Aug. 22.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) broke ground earlier this week on the 2.6-megawatt capacity Carter Lake Hydroelectric Project that will be generating power for Tri-State member system Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association by next summer.  When it begins commercial service in 2012, this will be the largest (in capacity and generation output) hydro plant serving a Tri-State member co-op.

The Carter Lake project is being constructed on the 112,000-acre-foot, 3-mile long lake of the same name in the foothills west of Loveland, Colo. The project will feature two 1,300-kilowatt horizontal Francis turbines that will generate a maximum summertime output of 2,600 kilowatts produced by a 250 cubic-feet per second water spinning the turbines.

The new hydro facility will be operated by the conservancy district and Poudre Valley REA will purchase the output of the plant under a power purchase agreement with the water district.  According to officials of the NCWCD,  annual generation from the hydro facility is estimated at 7 to 10 gigawatt-hours and the total projected cost of the project is $6.2 million. Continue reading ‘Construction begins on 2.6 MW hydro project to serve Poudre Valley REA’

Water and energy conference attracts business leaders from across Colorado

Published on August 24, 2011 in Public Meetings. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The operations of Tri-State's Craig Station provide an excellent example of the relationship between water use and power generation.

There are many elements that drive Colorado’s economy and help sustain a healthy and prosperous lifestyle for its residents, but you could make a strong argument that water and energy top the list. That’s why more than 200 participants from across the state – including several Tri-State representatives – are gathering in Steamboat Springs this week (Aug. 23-25) for the only professional conference of the year to focus on the combined water and power sectors, called “Water and Energy, Meeting Today’s Challenges and Tomorrow’s Opportunities.”

The event is a joint effort between the Colorado Water Congress, a leading voice in the state’s water community, and Colorado Coal and Power Generation, a group representing major coal providers, power suppliers and local governments. Tri-State, Western Fuels Association and Trapper Mine are among the conference sponsors.

U.S. Congressman Cory Gardner, a life-long Coloradoan, is serving as the conference's keynote speaker.

As to the focus of the three-day conference, a joint statement by the two organizing groups sums it up best: “People, water and energy supply are inextricably linked. In coming years, our ability to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy and water will be further challenged by issues such as population and demand growth, a changing regulatory environment, climate change and financial limitations.”

Tri-State executive vice president and general manager Ken Anderson is participating on a panel discussion – “The Water-Energy Nexus: What are Our Common Interests?” – which will examine the balance between the availability and management of water resources and its use in power generation. Other conference subjects include topics such as “Emerging Colorado Legislation,” “Integrating Technology as a Stepping-Stone to the Future” and “Carbon Emission Control Research.”

Ken Anderson, Executive Vice President/General Manager

Another highlight of the event will be the presence of keynote speaker U.S. Congressman Cory Gardner, a fifth-generation Coloradoan who currently sits on the Congressional Subcommittee for Energy and Power. The conference activities are scheduled to conclude on Thursday afternoon with tours of both Craig Station and Trapper Mine, which are located about 40 miles west of Steamboat Springs in northwest Colorado.

Cimmaron Solar Facility, Kit Carson Electric shine in Electric Co-op Today article

Published on August 23, 2011 in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

An article by Keven Groenewold, executive vice president of the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association, is featured this week on ECT.coop, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s flagship news site dedicated to coverage of the electric cooperative industry.

In it, Groenewold mentions the recent release of the nonprofit Solar Electric Power Association’s annual utility solar rankings report and the prominent placement of Tri-State G&T and member system Kit Carson Electric Cooperative.

Tri-State’s Cimmaron Solar Facility in New Mexico is the second largest operational facility of its kind in the country. The integration of 30 megawatts of solar power into the generation mix ranks Tri-State number six overall, but it also makes it the nation’s top electric cooperative in that category.

Tri-State joins Colorado transmission task force

Published on August 22, 2011 in Public Meetings, Resource Planning and Transmission. 0 Comments Tags: .

The first meeting of the Siting of Electric Transmission Facilities Task Force was held last week at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.  The task force was created by S.B. 11-045, a bill sponsored by Sen. Michael Johnston of Denver and Rep. Claire Levy of Boulder.  The task force is comprised of 17 members, all representing different stakeholder groups who have an interest in the transmission siting and permitting process in Colorado.  The electric co-op sector is represented by Tri-State’s senior manager for transmission land rights and permitting Rick Thompson along with Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA)  executive director Kent Singer.

At the first meeting, the members of the task force selected PUC commissioner Jim Tarpey as the chairman and Thor Nelson, a Denver attorney, as vice chairman.  The task force will have three additional meetings to develop recommendations for a report that must be submitted to the Colorado General Assembly by Dec. 1, 2011.  Two of those meetings will be held in Pueblo and Burlington to give interested parties outside of the Denver metro area a chance to participate in the process. Continue reading ‘Tri-State joins Colorado transmission task force’

Step ahead on New Mexico broadband

Published on August 19, 2011 in General and Public Outreach. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
Elected officials and other dignitaries break ground on Kit Carson Electric Co-op’s new $64 million broadband fiber-to-the-home project. (Photo By: Kit Carson Electric Co-op)

Federal, state and local officials joined representatives of Tri-State member Kit Carson Electric Cooperative earlier this week to break ground on a broadband fiber-to-home initiative that will bring high-speed Internet access to thousands of rural residents.

The project, financed in part through the 2009 stimulus act, will have applications for economic development, education, public safety and health care, as well as for smart grid and “green grid” initiatives.

“We have a history of bringing quality, reliable and affordable services to every part of our expansive service area,” said Luis Reyes, Jr., chief executive officer of the Taos-based co-op.

“Our membership said we should also look for such ways to better serve our diverse communities, and our board of directors has responded by approving this ambitious and much needed plan.”

Among the participants at the ceremony was Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who said the broadband investment was what he had in mind when he voted for the stimulus legislation.

“This grant is not only creating jobs now in northern New Mexico, it is laying the groundwork to attract new businesses, improve healthcare services and create new education opportunities in the future,” he said.

More than 1,100 gather for Dry Fork Station dedication

Published on August 17, 2011 in General, Public Meetings and Resource Planning. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Last week, a dedication ceremony took place near Gillette, Wyo., for Basin Electric’s new coal-based power plant — Dry Fork Station. More than 1,100 people were in attendance for a program that featured Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead.

Tri-State is a class-A member of Basin Electric and, as a result of the capacity provided by Dry Fork Station, will purchase an additional 75 megawatts from Basin under a long-term purchase power agreement.

Emceeing for the dedication event, Basin Electric’s CEO and general manager Ron Harper acknowledged that the completion of Dry Fork Station was an important accomplishment and stated the organization is “quite proud of that.”

Harper noted that more than $336 million was invested for environmental controls for the facility, making it one of the cleanest coal-based power plants in the country.

During the construction of Dry Fork Station, the work force peaked at more than 1,300 construction workers from more than 36 states. Impressive is the fact that these workers invested 6 million man hours without one lost-time accident. The 385-megawatt facility, which will power roughly 300,000 homes, now employs 83 full-time workers. Continue reading ‘More than 1,100 gather for Dry Fork Station dedication’