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Current News
05/17/12: Planned Power Outage for Nucla, Naturita Area June 4 - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) is performing necessary maintenance and improvements to the substation serving Nucla, Naturita and the surrounding areas. In order to perform this service SMPA must temporarily disrupt electric service to the region.
This will require a service interruption to approximately 1,036 members on June 4, 2012 during the early morning from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. June 5, 2012 has been set as the alternate date in the case of adverse weather. Residences and businesses located in or near Nucla and Naturita, Colo., will be affected as SMPA switches the region's electric service over to an alternate substation. This outage is necessary in order to maintain the reliability and integrity of the co-op's distribution system.
In the event that power in the affected area is not restored before 5:00 a.m., members are asked to call SMPA at (970) 864-7311 or (970) 626-5549. San Miguel Power strives to minimize any inconvenience to our members when performing maintenance duties, and thanks members for their understanding and patience.
05/03/12: SMPA Announces 2012 Scholarship Recipients - Congratulations to this year's San Miguel Power Association (SMPA), Tri-State, and Basin Electric scholarship recipients. SMPA is proud to award the following scholarships to deserving graduating seniors within the co-op's service territory:
Amanda Souther |
Alexis White |
Emily Fritz |
Halli Benasutti |
Nikole Aikin |
Emy Ludwig |
Cody Tatum |
Harley Narramore |
SMPA awards approximately $14,000 in scholarships annually to help local students pursue higher education. SMPA awards one $2,000 SMPA scholarship to one graduating senior from each local high school, two $500 Tri-State scholarships, and one $1,000 Basin Electric Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded based on overall academic performance, community involvement, student need, and a brief essay.
The scholarship recipients are selected from a blind evaluation by a volunteer committee. This year’s committee included Paul Paladino of the Montrose Regional Library District, Toni Bowling of the Delta Montrose Technical College, and Joey Montoya Boese of Colorado Mesa University Montrose Campus. SMPA expresses our sincere thanks for these volunteers.05/01/12: 2012 Power of Knowledge Tournament Results - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) held its 17th annual Power of Knowledge Tournament on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at the Ouray School. Eighteen teams from area schools competed for the top three spots in the middle school, high school, and elementary divisions. Ouray, Telluride, Nucla, Naturita, Norwood, and Paradox sent teams to this year’s competition
The tournament consists of five rounds, with teams competing in both written and oral exams. This year, each team took a 50-question written test to determine their placing going into the oral rounds. The remainder of the tournament consisted of four, 40-question oral rounds where teams competed against each other to answer questions that were read aloud.
SMPA is proud to announce the following winning teams:
Elementary Division:
First Place: Telluride Team A - 70 points
Team Members: Jaden Evans, Maddy Regrut, Delilah Smith
Second Place: Naturita Team 1 - 67 points
Team Members: William Gabriel, Chloe Nelson, Lexi Hippely, Logan Weimer
Third Place: Telluride Team B - 63 points
Team Members: Samantha Scherner, Jackie Allen, Caity Regrut
Middle School Division:
First Place: Telluride Team 2 - 92 points
Team Members: Jack Creel, Kevin Ensor, Max Reeser, Sabrina Sterling
Second Place: Ouray Team A - 77 points
 Team Members: Mariah Crandal, Evan Vann, Tristan Shields, Makenzie Gibbs
Third Place: Telluride Team 1 - 68 points
Team Members: Bailey Ensor, Sarah Kohari, Emily Abt, Soleil Gaylord
High School Division:
First Place: Ouray Team A - 86 points
Team Members: Allie Daughtry, Patrick Link, Daniel Degenhart, Will MacCraiger
Second Place: Telluride Team - 82 points
Team Members: Mitchell Morton, Lizzie MacMillan, Amber Furnee, Brian Ensor, Dalton Metz
Third Place: Ouray Team B - 63 points
Team Members: Sarah Stovichok, Heather Adams, Julie Vann
The tournament concluded with the awarding of trophies. All participants received a complimentary plastic tumbler cup. SMPA thanks the many volunteers who made the event possible and the Ouray School Music Department for serving breakfast and lunch. A special also thanks goes to Eric Fagrelius, Ouray Knowledge Bowl Coach, for the work he put into finding volunteers and getting the school ready for the event.
03/28/12: San Miguel Power Proposes Rate Changes - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) announced today it proposes to implement its first rate increase since April 2009. The rate changes will apply to all member rate classes within SMPA's system and are proposed to take effect June 1, 2012.
"To maintain quality, reliability and integrity of the service we provide, it was necessary to adjust our prices," said SMPA General Manager Kevin Ritter. "When setting these new rates our board of directors had to find solutions for the increased costs of living and doing business and ensure our rates are fair and equitable, all while making sure SMPA continues to provide dependable service at an affordable price."
This past January, SMPA also faced a 4.8% wholesale power cost increase from their provider Tri-State Generation and Transmission.
The proposed changes mainly affect the fixed access charge and the demand rate. They are as follows (changes highlighted in yellow):
| Current Rate Structure | Proposed Rate Changes |
General Service |
|
Access Charge: $8.75 |
$14.69 |
Energy Charge: $0.130228 |
$0.130228 |
General Service Demand |
|
Access Charge: $15.00 |
$18.00 |
Energy Charge: $0.062644 |
$0.077460 |
Demand Charge: $18.00 |
$14.00 |
Three Phase Non-Demand |
|
Access Charge: $16.00 |
$18.00 |
Energy Charge: $0.130228 |
$0.130228 |
Three Phase Demand |
|
Access Charge: $33.00 |
$33.00 |
Energy Charge: $0.058676 |
$0.075247 |
Demand Charge: $19.70 |
$14.00 |
About the Access Charge: Many utilities such as home phone, cell phone and cable or satellite TV service utilize some form of a monthly charge to cover the cost of providing the service to their customers' homes. For SMPA, this monthly charge is called the access charge. It is a fixed charge that allows the cooperative to recover fixed expenses such as property taxes, facilities insurance, depreciation and system maintenance. It is defined by a member's rate class and charged to every SMPA member regardless of the amount of electricity they consume.
The proposed changes for SMPA's access charge include an increase ranging from $2.00 to $6.00 for various rate classes. Despite these increases, it is still well below what was recommended after a thorough cost of service study. This coupled with the ever increasing costs of living and doing business will most likely drive an additional increase to the access charge in the future. However, SMPA's access charge remains one of the lowest in the state.
About the Energy Charge: Unlike the access charge, the energy charge is dependent on the amount of electricity you use. It is listed on your bill as the kWh charge and is the amount you pay per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the energy you consume. The total kWh charge on your bill can change monthly depending on the amount of energy you consume. For example if a typical residence uses 800 kWh one month, the energy charge will be $104.18. If it uses 950 kWh the next month the energy charge will increase to $123.72.
The proposed changes for SMPA's energy charge include a small increase for the demand rate classes of less than $0.02.
About the Demand Charge: The demand charge is put in place to cover the costs incurred by SMPA to build and maintain an electric system that is the correct capacity to serve your specific facility. It pays for SMPA to be able to build for and meet your peak needs. If your peak needs are above the average then you are assessed a demand charge on your monthly bill.
The proposed changes for SMPA's demand charge include a decrease to $14.00 for both the general service demand and three phase demand rate classes. The other important change to SMPA's demand rate is the adjustment to the criteria that determines if a member is placed on the demand rate.
"Our board was very responsive to our members' concerns about the demand rate and its effect on their pocketbook. As a result, a major part of our cost of service study was reviewing the current demand rate structure and reworking it to be effective and fair for the entire membership," said Ritter.
Previously, the co-op placed members whose demand met or exceed 20 kilowatts (kW) on to the demand rate for a 12-month period. Members were given a 60-day grace period to work with SMPA staff and an electrician to find ways to reduce their demand and ultimately stay on the non-demand rate.
The proposed changes will now allow the member to decide if they would like to be on the demand rate. Members with a monthly demand between 20 kW and 40 kW will have the option of remaining on the non-demand rate or changing to the demand rate. Members with a monthly demand in excess of 40 kW will be placed directly on the demand rate.
"In some cases the demand rate can be beneficial for members that use a very high of amount of kilowatt hours, but only have a moderately high demand. It's all a matter of making sure a member is on the correct rate," said Ritter.
SMPA will hold public hearings about the proposed rate changes at their upcoming board meetings scheduled for April 24, 2012, 9:30 a.m. at the Nucla Office and May 31, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. at the Ridgway Office. SMPA has also scheduled the following community education forums where they will explain the proposed changes in detail:
Tuesday, April 17, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Wilkinson Public Library, Telluride, Colo
Tuesday, May 15, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Ouray Community Center, Ouray, Colo
Tuesday, May 22, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Naturita Elementary School, Naturita, Colo
"Rate changes and increases are a natural part of the utility business, but SMPA works hard to minimize the impact our changes have on our members. That means providing the information and tools our members need to cut their energy use and increase the efficiency and comfort of their homes. One of our most useful tools is the website togetherwesave.com," said Ritter.
As a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, SMPA and its members have access to the powerful online resource togetherwesave.com. The website demonstrates how taking simple low-cost and no-cost energy-saving steps can lead to real dollar savings. It includes tutorials, do-it-yourself videos and educational articles. As members progress through the site and take the virtual home tour, a calculator will add up savings based on SMPA's electricity rates and the improvements made.
San Miguel Power also has numerous energy efficiency programs that reduce the upfront costs of making energy efficiency improvements. Staff members are available to conduct energy walk-throughs of homes and businesses to help members identify potential energy hogs and ways to save. For more information contact SMPA at (970) 626-5549 or (970) 864-7311.
03/08/12: SMPA Calls for Board Nominations in Districts One and Four - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) will hold elections for the district one and four board positions at their Annual Meeting on June 14, 2012. The Annual Meeting will be held at the co-op's office in Nucla, Colo., 170 W. 10th Ave. District one includes Nucla, Naturita, Uravan, Paradox, Redvale, Basin and Slick Rock. District four includes Colona northwest of Ouray County Road 1B, Log Hill west of Ouray County Road 1 and 1A, rural Telluride north of Highway 145, and the Town of Telluride northwest of Townsend and Colorado Ave., northwest of Tomboy and West Colorado and north of Black Bear Road and Mahoney Drive. San Miguel Power is now accepting nomination petitions for these two districts.
To be eligible to run for SMPA's Board of Directors a person must be a member of SMPA and the district in which he or she is seeking election. Members with multiple electric accounts can determine their primary account by calling SMPA. Relatives of SMPA employees are not eligible. A complete list of director eligibility guidelines is available at www.smpa.com.
District one and four members who are interested in running for the board position can pick up a nomination petition from one of SMPA's offices in Nucla or Ridgway, Colo. The nomination petition must be signed by 15 or more registered members from the district in which the candidate is seeking election and returned to SMPA on or before 5:30 p.m., April 30, 2012. SMPA will not be responsible for missed deadlines due to delays in mail service. Nomination petitions can be mailed to or dropped off in person at any of the following office locations:
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 1150, Ridgway, CO 81432, or
P.O. Box 817, Nucla, CO 81424Physical Address
170 W. 10th Avenue, Nucla, CO 81424, or
720 N. Railroad Street, Ridgway, CO 81432
SMPA board members serve four-year terms and have the responsibility of setting the strategic direction for the cooperative. Directors are required to represent the membership on a fair and impartial basis for the best interest of all members and attend regularly scheduled board meetings. Attendance at national, state and local meetings is often necessary as well.
“"We place a lot of responsibility on our board members," explained SMPA General Manager Kevin Ritter. "They must make decisions that reflect the wishes and concerns of our entire membership and stay informed about the issues facing the electric utility industry."
For more information about SMPA's board elections or Annual Meeting contact Toni Bertorello, Executive Secretary at (970) 626-5549 ext. 210 or toni@smpa.com. A full election schedule can be found at http://www.smpa.com/About/annual_meeting.cfm.
