San Miguel Power Association, Inc.

November 2009

San Miguel Power Buys Local Hydro Power - On October 1, 2009, San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) became the primary power purchaser of the electricity produced by Coal Creek Hydro-Electric LLC. Coal Creek Hydro previously sold electricity to Tri-State Generation and Transmission – SMPA’s wholesale power provider.

The contract between Coal Creek Hydro and Tri-State ended September 30. All parties agreed it just made sense to eliminate the middle man and set up a power purchase agreement directly between SMPA and Coal Creek Hydro.

“Coal Creek Hydro was a fairly small electricity producer for Tri-State when compared to their total load. It was more natural and beneficial to our members for SMPA to step in and set up a purchasing contract with Coal Creek Hydro,” explained SMPA General Manager, Kevin Ritter. “It’s a great example of local renewable power production by our members, for our members.”

Coal Creek Hydro began production in 2000, putting locally generated renewable energy onto the grid for SMPA members for the past nine years. It is a privately owned hydro-electricity plant just north of Ouray, CO. Telluride locals, Shawna and Trevor LaBorde own and operate the plant.

“We are pleased to provide power directly to our local co-op and community members,” said Shawna LaBorde.

Since start up, Coal Creek Hydro has averaged a production of 340,000 kilowatt hours per year, but has peaked at 550,000 kilowatt hours in the past. Factors surrounding the intake valve play a role in production. Recent upgrades to the intake system are expected to boost production. It is estimated that the power received from Coal Creek will make up about 0.169% of SMPA’s yearly load.

The contract between SMPA and Coal Creek Hydro designates SMPA as the primary power purchaser for the next 10 years. Additionally, SMPA has signed a 10 year agreement with Tri-State which allows SMPA to purchase locally generated renewable electricity under their Policy 115. This policy authorizes SMPA to purchase up to 5% of their electricity from local renewable sources.

SMPA will receive possession of all the Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) produced by the Coal Creek facility. SMPA will apply the RECs to their Colorado Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements. The RPS for all Colorado cooperatives requires the utilities to provide a specific percentage of renewable energy and/or recycled energy to members according to the following timeline:

1% of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2009-2011;
3% of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2012-2015;
6% of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the years 2016-2020; and
10% of its retail electricity sales in Colorado for the year 2021 and each following year.

San Miguel Power Offers Summer Retreats for Local Teens - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) is searching for local high school juniors to send on all expenses paid trips to Washington D.C. or Glen Eden Resort near Steamboat Springs, CO. All high school juniors between the ages of 16 and 18 that live in a household which receives power from SMPA are eligible for either week long adventure.

Each year SMPA sponsors one high school junior to attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Rural Electric Youth Tour in Washington D.C. The co-op also sends one high school junior to the Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA) Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp at Glen Eden Resort in Clark, CO.

At the NRECA Rural Electric Youth Tour, over 1,400 students from across the nation spend seven days touring the nation’s capital. The students visit many historic landmarks, including the Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian Museum and Capitol Building. Students also get to meet their U.S. Senators and Representatives. To complete the trip, the teens dance the night away on a dinner and dance cruise down the Potomac River. The dates for the 2010 tour are June 11 – 17, 2010.

The CREA Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp gives students an opportunity to spend a week in nature’s playground at the Glen Eden Resort near Steamboat Springs, CO. Teens from Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska come together to learn about the cooperative business model. They work together to form their own cooperative, test their skills at being an elected official and tour the Craig Station Power Plant. The camp also offers plenty of downtime for the students to enjoy volleyball, swimming, hot springs, campfires and dances. The dates for the 2010 camp are July 11 – 16, 2010.

Interested students must complete an application form and brief essay to be considered for either program. Applications are available at your local SMPA office or online at www.smpa.com/community/programs.cfm. Students may apply for both trips; however, a different student will be chosen for each program. NRECA Rural Electric Youth Tour applications are due December 15, 2009. CREA Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp applications are due December 21, 2009. For more information contact Becky Mashburn, SMPA Communications Executive at (970) 626-0212 or becky@smpa.com.

Scheduled Power Outage for Rico area Monday, November 9, 2009 - San Miguel Power Association, Inc. (SMPA) will be performing maintenance on the electrical system that serves the town of Rico on Monday, November 9, 2009. In order to perform these services, power will be turned off for approximately four hours, from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm.

SMPA will be replacing a lightning arrestor on Lizard Head Pass. Lightning arrestors are used to protect poles, wires, cables, transformers and other electrical equipment from electrical surges caused by lightning strikes. They carry the charge from the strike to the ground, preventing damage to the system. Several insulators in Cayton Camp Ground must also be replaced. Neither project is accessible by vehicle. For the safety of the SMPA crew and area residents, the power must be shut off during this process.

San Miguel Power strives to minimize any inconvenience to members when performing maintenance duties. In the event that power in the affected area is not restored before 2:00 pm, members are asked to call SMPA at (970) 626-5549 or (970) 864-7311. For more information regarding this scheduled outage, contact Glen Livengood, SMPA Operations Manager, (970) 626-0223 or (970) 209-5593.