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Limon Office Falcon Office Office Hours: |
May 2007
Manager's Message
Tri-State has recently rejuvenated their original plan and added several major components. J.M. Shafer, executive vice president/general manager said about the change, “When our board authorized a comprehensive resource development strategy a couple of years ago, we recognized the necessity to have flexibility in order to make adjustments in response to our members' power needs and changing market circumstances. The actions we're taking accomplish that.” The new plan includes:
Tri-State had originally planned for two units at the Holcomb, Kansas plant, but is now pursuing building only one unit with Golden Spread and Sunflower Electric owning a second unit. The highly efficient, supercritical pulverized coal power plant is scheduled to be online in 2013. The facility will incorporate best available control technology to minimize air emissions and include mercury-specific emission controls. The Colorado Power Project in southeastern Colorado is still in the study stage. Tri-State will construct a meteorological tower and install monitoring equipment this year to collect environmental data. They have also begun site acquisition, including a water change case to convert existing agricultural water rights to industrial use. This site would be available for development to meet longer-term power needs. Member cooperative load growth, including MVEA, will determine the development schedule and the availability of emerging technologies could influence the project's design. Concerning the plan Shafer stated, “We believe our resource planning – which is a dynamic, evolving process – meets a number of goals. It addresses present and future energy concerns of our members, it's a balanced approach to meeting our short and long-term obligations while positioning us well in the regional electricity market, and it will allow us to maintain a standard of reliability and achieve rate stability.” Your Invitation to MVEA's 66th Annual Meeting
An east coast boy, Cliff grew up around Norfolk, Virginia. He joined the army and ended up at Ft. Carson, Colorado where he met and married his wife and started a family. Cliff has three children and five grandchildren. He missed the ocean and deep-sea fishing, but also loved the mountains and hunting. Now he will have the time to enjoy both. As the purchasing agent for MVEA, Cliff was responsible for determining the absolute minimum material requirements of the Association so construction and maintenance demands would be met without delay. Cliff was also responsible for the inventory of the warehouse. His many duties included material handling and sorting, building and breaking down meter loops, cutting and threading of conduit, measuring and tagging of materials, loading and unloading materials, and selling new and used material. Cliff was also the contact for MVEA's suppliers. Cliff said, “I really enjoyed all the people that I have worked with at MVEA including the distributors, but I am ready to go and have a good time.” Cliff enjoyed the co-op a little more when it was smaller, but the benefits of working at MVEA have all been great. Seeing more of America is on Cliff's retirement agenda. He also plans on fishing a lot more with his two brothers who still live on the east coast. You'll also find Cliff and Robert E. Lee camping and hunting every chance they get. Folks at MVEA will certainly miss Cliff as he is one of the most interesting and colorful characters we have had the distinct pleasure of working with at the coop. On Cliff's last two days, the telephone in his office rang off the hook with calls from well-wishers that Cliff had worked with over the past 35 years. We all wish him the very best in his retirement and thank him for his many years of service to the cooperative and its members. Congratulations! Scholarships Awarded To Area StudentsMVEA is very pleased to introduce you to the first half of our 2007 scholarship winners. We award 15 scholarships to graduating high school seniors to attend colleges located within Colorado . This year we had 120 great applicants from 32 schools apply. Congratulations to the following students who were awarded $1,000 MVEA scholarships. We wish them the best for their future. Jennifer Payne is a graduate of Limon High School and daughter of David and Kristi Payne of Limon. She plans to attend CSU – Ft. Collins and major in Sociology. Jennifer was on the Limon cross country and track team. David Rosenkrans is the son of Richard and Joanne Rosenkrans of Peyton and a graduate of Peyton High School . He is majoring in Criminal Justice at Pikes Peak Community College . David was a member of the Criminal Justice Program at Pikes Peak and the Civil Air Patrol during high school. Laurena Richardson is a graduate of Rampart High School and the daughter of Garry and Sylvia Richardson of Colorado Springs. She plans to attend the University of Colorado – Boulder and major in Psychology. Laurena was a member of the National Honor Society, French Club, Tennis Team, Marching Band, and All-City Band. Brian Bills is the son of Dennis and Michelle Bills of Colorado Springs and a graduate of Pine Creek High School . Brian is planning to attend CSU – Ft. Collins and majoring in Pre-Veterinarian Science. During high school, Brian was on the football and track team, the Principal's Honor Roll, Leadership Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and participated in the Senior Citizens Assistance Program. Lindsey Lawson is a graduate of Calhan High School and daughter of Jack and Joan Lawson of Calhan. Lindsey plans to attend CU Boulder and major in Business Management. She was a member of the student council, National Honor Society, FBLA, track, volleyball and basketball teams, 4-H and class president. Rebecca Brunson is a graduate of Lewis-Palmer High School and daughter of Richard Brunson and Martha Manley of Monument. Rebecca is headed to the University of Denver to major in biology. During high school, she was a member of Serteen, EPYCS, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and the Sundance Studio competitive dance ensemble. Thomas Lightbody is the son of Robert and Valerie Lightbody of Calhan and a graduate of Calhan High Meaghan Bos is a graduate of Lewis-Palmer High School and daughter of David and Louise Bos of Monument. CSU is her college destination with a planned major of Environmental Sciences. Meaghan was a member of the National Honor Society, Wind, Symphony and Jazz bands, hiking club, and Pikes Peak Rush Premier Soccer Team.
Effeciency Today At MVEA!MVEA is kicking off a new energy efficiency campaign and asking for your assistance. We would like to start by lowering our monthly power costs. A little change on your part and our part could go a long way in helping us stabilize our rates and reduce our peak need for power.First, let us explain how your co-op pays for the power we provide to our members. The largest portion of our monthly power cost is a component called a Demand Charge. MVEA is billed this charge based on our highest consumption period, or peak, of the month. By reducing these peaks and spreading out our usage, we could reduce our wholesale power cost and our need for unnecessary generation to accommodate our peak period. Here is how you can help. We will identify our peak hours based on MVEA's past history. We will publish the forecasted peak periods in the local newspapers and in Colorado Country Life Magazine so you can target these time periods to reduce your usage on a month-to-month basis. Your co-op has approximately 38,000 members spread out over 5000 square miles and residential usage is what drives our monthly peak. If you could picture our usage curve on a daily basis, it starts out low and rises dramatically when everyone gets up for work and school. Then around 9:30 a.m., it drops back down until the evening peak. The evening peak varies throughout the year based on when the sun sets. People generally go into the house after the sun sets and turn on lights, prepare dinner, take showers and start laundry. These types of activities help drive our peak. In the wintertime, this peak usually occurs between 5 and 6:30 p.m. and in the summer, between 8 and 9:30 p.m. With a little concentrated effort and awareness of these time periods, we could take a few giant steps toward reducing this peak demand. The smallest of adjustments from each of us could make a big difference. With a force of 38,000 cooperative members and neighbors, we can definitely make an impact. For those of you that have the flexibility to shift the majority of your power usage to off peak periods, MVEA offers a time of day rate. This rate's peak times are between 5:30a.m-12:00p.m and 4:30p.m-10:30 p.m. While this rate will benefit you with lower energy charges during off peak times, you will pay a premium for energy used during the peak times as well as a small increase in the monthly facility charge. Please feel free to contact our office with any questions regarding our time of day rate. So, let's ban together and get the ball rolling. Watch for our peak period notification and remember every little kilowatt counts! Two New Employees Join MVEA
Touchstone Energy Dutch Oven Cook-off information
The dates for this year's cook-offs are: Elbert County Fair in Kiowa, Friday, August 3; Lincoln County Fair in Hugo, Friday, August 10 and Deer Trail Rodeo, Sunday, August 19. For those of you who do not know, Deer Trail is the site of the world's first rodeo and now a great Dutch oven contest. There will be four categories to enter: bread, main dish, side dish, and dessert. You can enter as many as you like. No entry fees are charged. There is a limit of 10 teams per cook-off. Great prizes are awarded for 1st , If eating is more your forte, come on out to the cook-offs ‘cause there's some great samplin' going on after the judging. For more information call Patsy at 719-775-2861. Need Help Paying 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 . Following are phone numbers for your county 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 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 El Paso County – 719-347-2976 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 Red Cross - 719-632-3563 New Hope Shelter - 719-578-9190 (Colorado Springs) 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 Time is running out---get those photos sent in!
Limon Heritage Museum
Other attractions include the pioneer arbor, memory garden, one room school house, ranch and horse tack boxcar, antique farm equipment and, of course, the museum exhibit building. Be sure to attend Limon's annual heritage celebration on August 4. The day includes a cemetery tour, exhibits, music, lost arts demonstrations and a whole lot more. August 25, the museum will host their annual pops concert and ice cream social on the depot lawn. The museum hours are Monday – Saturday, 1-8 p.m. May 29 – September 3. As always, there is no admission charge and free guided tours are available. Special arrangements during the off-season can be made for group tours. So come on out to Limon and get a glimpse of the old west and Colorado 's heritage. For more information, call 719-775-8605. DCP Utility Consulting |
2007 News Archive |
A couple of months ago I spoke of Tri-State Generation & Transmission's comprehensive resource development plan aimed at adding to the association's generation and transmission network through a series of projects over the next 15 years. 
Robert E. Lee will be enjoying more romps with his owner these days. MVEA purchasing agent and warehouseman extraordinaire, Cliff Holland, has decided to retire from MVEA after 35 years of service and have some good times with his chocolate lab. 
Two new employees have joined MVEA recently. Curtis Bell is a new lineman working out of the Falcon Operations Center . He was formerly employed by Colorado Springs Utilities as an inspector. 
MVEA's new staking technician is Steven Lofshult. Steven comes to the co-op from Synergetic Design, Inc. where he was employed as a gas and electric facilities designer. We welcome both of these employees to the co-op. 
Let's get cookn'! MVEA's Dutch oven contests are just around the corner. This is the 9th year we have sponsored the cook-offs and they just keep getting better and better. 
Our 2007 calendar was absolutely great with some wonderful photos from our members. So for the fourth year, we are inviting you to send in your photos taken within MVEA's territory and reflecting the seasons and the people, lifestyle or landscape of our area. The winners will be included in our 2008 calendar. The deadline for entry is July 1, 2007. If you have questions, please call Deborah Skillicorn or Patsy Tompkins at either MVEA office.
Every spring a little jewel on the prairie opens its doors to visitors who want a glimpse of life and history on