February 2009
Changing Your Lifestyle To Keep the Lights On.
Over the past few months, Americans have experienced a considerable amount of change in our lives. In fact, the new president, Barack Obama, ran his campaign on the basis of “change”. Change can impact us in a variety of ways - some good, some bad and, quite possibly, in ways that we never imagined. In this month’s column, I want to make you aware of a possible change that will have a dramatic impact on the lifestyle that we have all come to expect in the modern world - a possible shortage of electricity in the future.
Experts have warned us that we could experience a shortage of electricity in the western United States as early as the summer of 2009. The downturn in the economy has pushed that window to an unknown point in the future, but the threat is still very real. As Colorado grows and any new proposed sources of electric power generation are repressed by the growing state and federal rules and regulations, the possibility of this shortage becomes even more of a reality. Our need for electric power has been predicted to climb 30 percent between now and 2030. The existing generation resources will not meet the demands of this projected growth.
We have all been in a situation that forced us to be without electricity for an extended period of time. It is obvious from the feedback that MVEA receives from the membership during outages that you feel electricity is very essential to your lifestyle. Americans have grown to enjoy our modern conveniences and if we are deprived of these conveniences, we are not happy. However, electricity has become not only a convenience, but a necessity. We have managed to base almost everything we do at home and at work on having electricity available at the flip of a switch, the push of a button or the clapping of the hands. But, if we want to keep enjoying our current lifestyle, we will have to change our ways.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission, MVEA’s power supplier, is exploring alternatives to meet the power needs of the future from coal, natural gas, and renewable resources. We will continue to keep the membership informed of their progress on electric resource projects.
It is evident we need to be more conservative in the use of resources and generation that we currently have in place in respect to our homes, farms and businesses by becoming more energy efficient. Taking advantage of the many options we have to educate ourselves on energy use and the new products on the market, we all need to begin practicing some serious energy efficiency measures. According to the Cooperative Research Network, we can take a few small measures and the annual growth of electric demand could drop by almost half of 1 percent, to 2.2 percent.
On a personal level, I have taken steps to increase the energy efficiency of my home that I feel make a difference in my monthly usage. I’ve turned down my water heater thermostat; installed a programmable thermostat for my furnace; changed my light bulbs to compact fluorescent lamps; plugged leaks in my home with weather-striping and caulk; installed motion sensor light switches in closets and the garage and become more diligent about turning off the lights when I leave a room. I’ve also bought a meter that records the usage of my appliances. I know these seem like small measures, but if we all were taking similar steps we would see a decline in our usage and decrease the future demand for electricity.
You can get more information about improving the energy efficiency of your home and business by visiting MVEA’s web site at
www.mvea.coop and clicking on the Home Energy Efficiency link to help you make a plan of action. Another link you can check out is
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/printable_versions/index.html
MVEA also has employees on staff who can answer questions on energy usage. Just call either MVEA office. If we all do our part, we can all have lights when we flip the switch.
Limon Wins Big
All three spots in MVEA’s Youth Tour Essay Contest were won by Limon High School juniors this year. Ashley Walters, Reid Hansen and Jerome King placed first, second and third respectively. We will feature each of these students and their essays in the next few months.
Ashley Walters is the daughter of Ron and Roberta Walters of Limon. Ashley’s older brother, Victor, won first place and the trip to Washington, D.C. several years ago. Ashley is a very talented young lady and is in many activities inside and outside of school including: Limon High School choir and band; Tri-M Honor Society; Eastern Colorado Honor Choir; CSU Honor Choir; solo and ensemble participant; choreographer for the mini musical “The Patriots”; Heritage Society Summer Reading Program volunteer; assistant music minister for the Our Lady of Victory Church; Eastern Plains Players Drama Club and Limon High School musical participant. In her “spare” time, Ashley manages to be an excellent student. She will be traveling to Washington, D.C. with approximately 22 other Colorado high school juniors for the NRECA Youth Tour in June. Ashley will not only have the opportunity to meet 1500 other students from around the nation, but also tour the city and meet her state representatives. This is an incredible opportunity for a young person to see firsthand how are federal government operates. In this year of exciting changes, it should be exceptionally educational and interesting.
Congratulations to all of the winners and a huge thank you to all the students who took the time and made the effort to enter our essay contest. The topic this year, “Our Energy, Our Future,” is one that will affect them and their future children. It is important that we hear their thoughts are this very important subject and make them aware of the energy problems they may face everyone in the very near future. Following is Ashley’s winning essay.
Our Energy, Our Future
Will energy in the future be affordable and reliable for all the nation’s citizens? How will our energy demands affect our future? The best way to address these and other important questions is to contact our representatives and make them aware of our concerns. To make such changes to the nation’s demand and use of fossil fuels requires leadership from the government. According to former congressman Glen English, “the federal government has always played an active role in providing guidance and support to the American people.” It’s now important that we, as Americans, help the government address this next obstacle. The national campaign, “Our Energy, Our Future” has one main goal in mind. It encourages the idea of an open dialogue between the American people and their elected officials. For this reason, I believe that the concept of “Our Energy, Our Future” is one that will benefit all mankind.
Numerous Americans, like myself, are concerned about the future of our nation and the planet. Will we have enough energy to support us in the future? As years go on, the need for energy will increase dramatically. The demand will almost certainly outweigh the supply. In order to insure the fact that we’ll have enough energy to meet such demands, the government must take certain actions to lower demand and raise supply. At this moment, the Department of Energy is working to establish clean fuel initiatives to utilize fossil fuels, and employ the use of hydrogen and fusion which derive from diverse sources. The use of these sustainable sources will cut down our dependence on foreign oil. However, while the need for more energy is imperative, we must also make sure that we do not harm the environment while
developing and maintaining these supplies. Therefore, the use of wind, geothermal, hydro and thermo energy is also in effect.
Another way to insure the use of potential energy is through technology. Modern science has been producing more efficient power sources and eliminating greenhouse emissions. The emanation of these gases has steadily increased year after year causing severe consequences to our environment. With the help of technology, we can use energy in the future without worrying about the emission of greenhouse gases. The main use of innovative technology is to find equilibrium between energy we use and the restoration of our climate. Initially, this will all come at a high cost. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, about $1.4 million will be used every year to ensure that we’ll have the technology we need to sustain our use of energy.
With all of this innovative technology that will be used, a question of cost for citizens is sure to arise. Most of the cost that will go into providing this technology will appear on electric bills all over America. Bills are constantly going up due to the energy crisis. A simple way of understanding how this will impact the nation directly is to pay attention to legislation. Congress can greatly affect electric bills by what decisions are made on Capitol Hill. So, it is important that the nation knows and takes a part in legislation for the betterment of America.
“Our Energy, Our Future” can certainly present whatever is on the mind of citizens when it comes to the future of energy. Because of this grassroots effort, we are able to bring our points and ideas to those who will understand it best, the elected men and women in Congress. I believe this campaign will benefit and have a positive impact on the nation and its future generations.
Lincoln County Relay for Life---Walking for a Cure
MVEA is once again the Hope sponsor for the 2nd Annual Lincoln County Relay for Life. This year’s event will be Friday, June 26, 2009 at the Limon High School track. Participants gather Friday evening and walk through the night to celebrate the lives of those who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against a disease that takes too much. Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight event that empowers everyone to help fight cancer by raising money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission. Teams camp out at the Limon High School track and take turns walking or running around the track. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relay For Life symbolizes the hope that people lost to cancer will never be forgotten, that those who face the disease have support and that one day cancer will be eliminated.
2009 marks the 25th year of Relay for Life. MVEA is a proud sponsor of this event and invite our members and businesses to participate. So many of our members and employees have been touched by cancer and this is an opportunity to support the research in the hope that our children and grandchildren will not have to suffer its affects. For more information on how you can participate, please call Deborah Skillicorn at 719-641-6539. Together we can do more in the fight against cancer than any of us can do alone.
Send Us Your Calendar Photos
Click here for details and entry form.
We had another very successful year with our calendar photo contest! The photos were great and produced a beautiful calendar. We look forward to getting your awesome photos again. Click above for the entry form and rules-----keep up the good work!!
Getting lights on the streets
Sale of LED Christmas lights benefits organizations
MVEA, with the help of local organizations, put some major LED Christmas lighting on the streets this season. Organizations such as the Simla American Legion and Angel Fire 4-H that have been selling CFLs for some time were given the opportunity to sell strands of Christmas lights and make some extra cash. Twelve organizations responded and managed to sell 856 strings of lights. They made a profit of almost $4,500.
MVEA offered a 70 light string of multicolored lights to organizations which they sold for $8. This gave them a profit of $5.00 for each string sold. Similar strands were sold retail for $15.99. The organization could also collect old strands of lights and bring them to MVEA. We credited the organization an additional $1 per strand toward their order of lights, not to exceed the number of strands actually sold by the organization. Tri-State G&T provided a rebate of $4 per string sold. MVEA provided a rebate for each string up to $4, depending on whether an old strand was turned in. The number of old strands of lights turned in was 185.
It is to Tri-State and MVEA’s advantage that our members change over to more energy efficient lighting. LED lights are up to 90 percent more efficient than incandescent lights. According to the Department of Energy, the best white LEDs have been found to have a useful life of about 35,000 hours, or four years of continuous operation. Also, when one light goes out on a string, the others stay lit – which is great news for the person decorating.
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