San Miguel Power Association, Inc.

August 2009

San Miguel Power to Keep Doors Open Five Days a Week - Effective October 5, 2009, San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) will officially be open five days a week. The co-op transitioned to a 10-hour-day, four day work week 15 years ago in order to accommodate members before and after their regular work day. That part isn’t changing. Members will still be able visit the co-op’s offices 7:00 am – 5:30 pm.

In order to provide services five days a week, SMPA is implementing an alternating schedule where one district office is open Monday – Thursday and the other, Tuesday – Friday. Office Hours will be as follows:

Nucla Branch: Monday – Thursday, 7:00 am – 5:30 pm
Ridgway Branch: Tuesday – Friday, 7:00 am – 5:30 pm

Although each office will technically only be open four days per week, the co-op will provide full service to its members all five working days.

“The goal of this new schedule is to provide full service to all of our members every day of the work week,” stressed SMPA General Manager, Kevin Ritter. “Regardless of where a member lives, they will now be able to contact us and work with us Monday through Friday.”

Improved service is the purpose behind the schedule switch. Members will soon be able to make payments, connect new services, and request quotes on Fridays. The caveat – all inquiries will be handled at the Ridgway office on Fridays, and likewise, at Nucla on Mondays. It will take some ingenuity to make that possible.

“We’re researching a lot of different options right now,” explained Ritter. “We’re looking at upgrading our phone systems, utilizing video kiosks and performing substantial cross training among our staff.”

San Miguel Power Recognized for Excellence in Safety - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) earned the Third Place Safety Award from Colorado Rural Electric Association in recognition of its outstanding safety record. The co-op earned top honors in safety despite the fact that its territory is comprised of some of the most rugged and potentially dangerous terrain in Colorado.

SMPA was judged against 22 other Colorado rural cooperatives on a variety of criteria, including accidents, training programs, wellness programs, protective equipment, mapping and safety preparation. In 2008, SMPA had no lost time accidents, meaning there were no accidents which required medical attention or prevented an employee from performing his or her job duties. In addition, the co-op also conducts monthly safety meetings, uses first-rate protective gear and has a staff-wide wellness program.

Safety is a high priority at San Miguel Power. Part of the co-op’s mission statement charges the employees of SMPA to “provide members with safe […] electrical service.” That includes keeping outside and inside employees safe and productive.

“The first step to providing members safe power is ensuring the safety of our employees. We work in a high risk industry where even small mistakes can have deadly consequences,” explained SMPA General Manager, Kevin Ritter.

That concern for safety translates into SMPA’s community involvement. The co-op conducts numerous safety demonstrations and equipment trainings throughout the year at local government organizations and schools. San Miguel Power’s website, www.smpa.com, also lists electrical safety tips for all ages and instructions for members in case of a hazardous situation. Organizations that are interested in a safety demonstration can contact, Rick Gabriel, SMPA Purchasing/Store Supervisor at (970) 864-7311.

San Miguel Power Association, Inc. is a member owned, locally controlled rural electric cooperative with offices in Nucla and Ridgway, CO. It is the mission of San Miguel Power Association to demonstrate corporate responsibility and community service while providing our members safe, reliable, cost effective and environmentally responsible electrical service. SMPA serves approximately 9,600 members and 13,000 meters and supports local communities with $200,000 annually in property taxes.

Scheduled Power Outage for Placerville Area Monday August 31 - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. will be performing preventative maintenance Monday, August 31, 2009 on the electrical system that serves the following areas:

Blue Jay
Fall Creek
Placerville

In order to perform this service, power will be turned off for approximately four hours, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. In the event that power in the affected area is not restored before 6:00 pm, members are asked to call SMPA at (970) 626-5549. San Miguel Power strives to minimize any inconvenience to members when performing maintenance duties. For more information regarding this scheduled outage, contact Glen Livengood, SMPA Operations Manager, (970) 626-0223 or (970) 209-5593.

San Miguel Power to Conduct Power Pole Inspections -To help insure safety and reliability, San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) will conduct power pole inspections in various areas throughout their service territory beginning September 1, 2009. The inspections are estimated to take six weeks to complete.

SMPA has contracted with SBS Inspections of Olathe, CO to inspect poles in the following areas:

Ground Hog to Disappointment Valley
Ridgway to Ouray on county roads 3, 3A, 8, 10, 12 and 23, and the subdivisions of Elk Meadows, Idlewild, Whispering Pines, Pano Heights and Park Estates

The inspections, which involve hand digging beside each pole, boring test holes and a complete visual inspection of poles and lines, may require access onto private property. Every effort will be made to contact property owners prior to entering their property.

For more information contact, Glen Livengood, SMPA Manager of Operations, (970) 626-0223 or glen@smpa.com.

San Miguel Power Hosts Energy Roundtable Discussion -San Miguel Power Association, Inc.’s board room was literally abuzz with energy Monday, August 10 at the inaugural Mayors’ Energy Forum. The mayors from each city and town within San Miguel Power’s service territory were invited to attend the event which focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency in their local communities.

“Renewable energy and conservation are hot topics for everyone right now,” said SMPA General Manager, Kevin Ritter. “This roundtable provided the perfect opportunity to start a dialogue between SMPA and our communities about these issues.

Mayors Stu Fraser of Telluride; Barbara Betts of Rico; Bob Delves of Mountain Village; Michael Kimball of Sawpit; Bob Risch of Ouray; Pat Willits of Ridgway and Cameron Riley of Naturita and Norwood Town Administrator, Patti Grafmyer were in attendance. San Miguel Power General Manager, Kevin Ritter and President, Wes Perrin moderated the discussion.

The roundtable kicked off with each mayor sharing the concerns and goals of their communities. Although each had their unique needs, there was one common thread – teamwork. When discussing Telluride’s recently announced goal of using 100% renewable energy by the year 2020, Mayor Fraser expressed “We need to work together to make it happen.”

Mayor Delves of Mountain Village also expressed interest in working together as a region to secure grant funding and stimulus money. “We have a better chance to get [funding] if we act regionally and show cooperation with the power company,” said Delves.

Teamwork isn’t a new concept for San Miguel Power. Most recently, the co-op paired up with the City of Ouray to help them make a complete transition from mercury vapor street lights to LED technology. SMPA made it clear to the mayors present that it is ready to help wherever it can to address their communities’ energy needs.

“The [SMPA] Board of Directors is discussing the same issues we’re talking about today,” explained SMPA Board President, Wes Perrin. “We want our members to know that we are being pro-active to their needs.”

Much of the discussion also centered around explaining the renewable energy policies of San Miguel Power and their wholesale power provider Tri-State Generation and Transmission. San Miguel Power maintains a 100% Power Purchase Agreement with Tri-State until the year 2050. Under this agreement, SMPA is allowed to purchase up to 5% of their power from local distribution sources without affecting that Agreement. Local purchases above the 5% must involve Tri-State in the power purchase agreement. Although the co-op purchases all locally generated renewable energy that is available, they have yet to meet 1% of their allotment.

“We’ve been approached with a lot of new projects. Many of them are still in the idea and planning phase, but if they come online we could see a marked increase in the amount of locally generated renewable power,” explained Ritter. “SMPA does not have the resources to develop all these ideas on our own, but we will work to assist others in developing their resources.”

Ritter went on to explain the dynamics of energy and demand in relation to renewable resource development. He stressed that when individuals or communities are looking to develop renewable generation sources, they must consider two key factors – when will the system produce energy and when will the users connected to that system need energy.

“Your generation needs to meet demand somehow,” explained Ritter. “San Miguel Power and Tri-State have to consider that when we’re looking at possible projects. Will you produce energy when our members actually need to use it?”

Mayor Risch re-iterated the complexity of developing smaller local renewable systems. “It’s a learning experience for all us,” commented Risch as he discussed Ouray’s exploration into a small hydro facility at their community pool.

However, one thing was made abundantly clear during the morning’s conversation. Energy efficiency is a high priority for each community. “The real behavioral change I’m try to effect is conservation,” stressed Mayor Delves of Mountain Village. As leader of a community that is a self proclaimed energy hog, Delves sees an opportunity to make the biggest improvement in energy efficiency.

Similarly, SMPA Board President Wes Perrin explained that SMPA must function according to the impulses of its members. “We’ve got to provide the power every time someone turns on a switch,” said Perrin. “We have a responsibility to serve our members’ demand. But, if we can make members more aware of energy efficiency, we can lessen that demand.”

Energy Efficiency Could Save $1.2 Trillion - A new report released this week by McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, concludes that elevating energy efficiency to a national priority could save American consumers $1.2 trillion by 2020—about the same amount as the projected 2009 federal budget deficit.

While calling energy efficiency the “single most promising resource” in pursuing energy affordability and security, the report also finds energy efficiency could create 600,000 to 900,000 sustainable green jobs and reduce the nation’s overall energy consumption by 23 percent. The reduction in energy use would also result in the abatement of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually—the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads.

The report offers observations that McKinsey believes will be relevant to a national debate about how best to pursue energy efficiency opportunities of the magnitude identified in the study and within the timeframe considered in its report. Specifically, the report calls for a comprehensive strategy that:

Recognizes energy efficiency as an important energy resource that can help meet future energy needs while the nation concurrently develops new no- and low-carbon energy sources.
Identifies methods to provide the significant upfront funding required by any plan to capture energy efficiency.
Forges greater alignment between utilities, regulators, government agencies, manufacturers and energy consumers.
Fosters innovation in the development and deployment of next-generation energy efficiency technologies to ensure ongoing productivity gains.

The full 165-page report, “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” was produced in association with 13 leading institutions and is available on McKinsey's Web site.