February 2024 Board Meeting Summary
PrintSDCEA Board of Directors meeting highlights, February 26, 2024
Board meeting dates – Several upcoming board meeting dates were changed due to conflicting schedules. SDCEA will post meeting agendas 10 days prior to the meeting. If there is a month you plan to attend a meeting, please check the SDCEA website or contact SDCEA to confirm the board meeting date.
Dates are listed here: Board meeting dates – Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc. (myelectric.coop)
Capital Credits – What are capital credits? A cooperative does not earn profits in the sense that other businesses do. Instead, any margins, or profits, remaining after all expenses have been paid, are returned to the members in proportion to their usage of the cooperative’s service through capital credit allocations.
Each year the board approves the allocation of margins to members’ accounts. This creates capital credits to be paid. Capital Credits represent each member’s ownership (equity) of the cooperative and Tri-State Generation and Transmission. The co-op is required to allocate operating margins, line 21 in the Form 7. From policy C-21, “As a non-profit rural electric cooperative that is exempt from income tax, SDCEA shall annually calculate and allocate capital credits.”
For 2023, staff preliminarily recommends $422,108.31 in margins be allocated back to members. Margins are used by SDCEA for operating capital and, over time, may be paid back to our members in the form of capital credit refunds when the financial position of the cooperative permits and policy provisions are met.
Wildfire Mitigation Update:
A three-man crew will work to finish cutting in Lake County this spring, which will complete mitigation efforts in that area.
Two crews are working in Custer County to work on areas covered in a fire mitigation grant awarded by the Colorado State Forest Service.
Project Totals since inception:
Total Overhead Line Miles in System: 750
Estimated miles to be Cut/Trimmed: 264
Total Miles Cust/Trimmed: 114
Percent Complete: 43
Estimated Project Cost: $9 Million
Total Project Spent: $4,825,537
Amount Remaining to Spend: $4,189,769
2024 Budget $1,912,181
2024 Spend Year to Date $120,000
2023 Budget Remaining $1,792,181
2024 Progress
Total Trees Removed – 288
Total Trees Trimmed – 260
Hazard Trees Removed – 14
Financial Report
Year-to-date (January 2024): Revenues are within 1 percent of budget.
Total expenses are 20.4% under budget. The main reason for the large under budget percentage is there was no vegetation mitigation expense in January due to the tree trimming crews starting in late January, pushing their invoices to February. Furthermore, purchased power costs are lower than budgeted due to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling delay on a Tri-State Generation and Transmission rate increase. Both expenses will correct in 2024.
Cybersecurity: The board received education and training from SDCEA’s Informational Technology Specialist on SDCEA’s cyber security and disaster planning.
