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Limon Office Falcon Office Office Hours: |
April 2006President's Message
Mountain View Electric Association is preparing for our 65th Annual Meeting in Calhan on June 8, 2006. Due to last year's overwhelming attendance, we will once again have an evening meeting. We look forward to another successful event. Just as in past years, the subject of consumer growth dominated the board room. We continue to experience tremendous growth in the western portion of our territory. MVEA is striving to make sure the necessary facilities are in place to meet the rising demand for electricity, as well as continuing to improve system reliability. We believe that we are meeting these two goals; however, we will continue to make every effort to improve service. The financial condition of our Cooperative remains strong for 2006. We have met all of our mortgage requirements set forth by our lenders, which includes receiving a clean audit from our independent auditing firm of Dreyer & Kelso. One financial ratio that is actually improving is member equity. Over the past several years, I have talked about our trend toward declining equity. Well, I am happy to report that not only has the decline stopped, but it has actually started rising again, albeit slightly. Equity has gone from 32.16 in 2003 to 34.48 at the end of 2005. I am sure one of the factors that helped this improvement is the new Line Extension Policy that went into effect January 1, 2005 reducing the investment the Association will commit to new services. Hopefully this trend will continue to improve member equity. With all of this in mind, the Board of Directors did approve a capital credit refund of over $2,000,000 for 2005. Checks were distributed in December of 2005. Operation Round-up continues to spread a positive impact throughout our service territory. As we go to print, we have dispersed almost $900,000 to needy organizations and individuals in our area since the inception of this program. Approximately 70% of our members participate in this program contributing about $13,000.00 per month. What a tremendous success this has become. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank all of the
employees of MVEA for their hard work and dedication to our association
and its members. We feel very fortunate to have quality employees to
serve you. Financial Report and Annual MeetingDownload 2005 Financial Report (pdf) Annual Meeting Information (pdf)
Interesting Facts About MVEA Here are some interesting facts about your cooperative. Some of these numbers are approximate since MVEA is growing daily. Counties served – Arapahoe, Crowley, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Lincoln, Pueblo and Washington Year organized – 1941 Power source – Tri-State Generation and Transmission Number of employees – 123 Number of services – 37,393 Miles of energized line – 5,623 Consumers per mile - 7 Total plant in service - $182,800,906 Service territory – 5,000 square miles The Cooperative Way
The rural people of America were the have-not's. They were told that, for them, it was not profitable for the electric companies to provide electricity. No profit, no lights. President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed that forever by offering the people a New Deal. As part of the New Deal, the Rural Electrification Administration was established in 1935. The next year, the Rural Electrification Act was signed enabling loans to be made to cooperatives ready to electrify rural America. Shortly after that, in December 1940, approximately 150 people gathered at the Black Forest Community Center to see about getting electricity to the areas beyond Colorado Springs. They established a cooperative and incorporated in 1941. They applied for, and received, a loan to build an electric system. The co-op started by purchasing Commonwealth Electric Company and its generator in Limon. The Co-op also purchased the power lines running along Highway 24 to Falcon. Membership in the co-op at that time was $5, and members were expected to help build the lines to their houses, contributing equipment and just plain hard work. This was the foundation for today's cooperative, Mountain View Electric Association. MVEA still operates on the same principles it started with 65 years ago. We are still owned by the members we serve and we work to provide the very best in service. The original members who worked hard to improve the quality of life for today's members changed our rural service area forever. Remember, as a member, you are part of a great tradition – a rural cooperative.
Need Assistance With Your Utility Bill?The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is designed to help low-income households with winter home heating costs. It is not intended to pay the entire cost of home heating . Up to one-half of a LEAP benefit may be diverted to MVEA to pay your electric bill if we are not the sole heating fuel provider. You must request a portion be paid on your electric bill or the entire payment will be sent to your heating fuel provider. Propane, natural gas and oil furnaces cannot operate without electricity so be sure a portion of that payment goes to MVEA. Following are phone numbers for your count LEAP offices. Applications will be accepted from November 1 through April 30. El Paso – 719-442-0007 Elbert – 719-541-2369 Douglas – 303-688-4825 Lincoln – 719-7432404 Washington – 970-345-2238 Pueblo – 719-583-6356 Crowley – 719-267-3546 Arapahoe – 303-636-1100 Or, go to the LEAP website at www.colorado.gov/leap . Other agencies in the area to assist with emergency situations: Health & Human Service Information & Referral – 211, 719-955-0742, 866-488-9742 www.ppunitedway.org Pikes Peak Community Action Agency: Administration office - 719-471-7870 Eastern Colorado Springs – 719-385-7930 Fountain Area – 719-382-8515 Northern Churches Cares - 719-277-7470 Tri-Lakes Cares – 719-481-4864 Salvation Army – 719-636-3891 Silver Key (60 and over) – 719-632-1521 Army Emergency Relief (military personnel and retirees) – 719-526-4783 The Home Front Cares (active military, reservists and National Guard) – Military Service Center |
2006 News Archive |
Joe
Martin, MVEA Board President
An
early MVEA Annual Meeting.In the early part of the 20th century, society
was divided into rural and urban, the haves and the have-nots. Electricity
was the great divider.