February 2025 Board Meeting
PrintSangre de Cristo Electric Association Board of Directors Meeting Summary, February 26, 2025
Construction Work Plan – An overview of SDCEA’s 2022-25 construction work plan was given by Manager of Engineering Len Gates.
The plan is an analysis of past and projected performance of, and to provide planning for maintenance, upgrade, and expansion of SDCEA’s system. It is also used to determine and document that the cooperative is working to provide reliable electric service per USDA Rural Utility Service guidelines.
The work plan also reviews the ongoing needs of SDCEA’s system and estimates expenditures required for necessary projects.
Advantages to the plan include:
Enhanced Safety
Upgrading SDCEA’s system ensures a safe supply of power to the public, is safer for our crews to work on, and improves accessibility for maintenance.
Greater Reliability
We are committed to providing dependable electricity, meeting the expectations of our consumers as a key part of our mission.
Supporting Growth with Increased Capacity
Our upgrades are designed to manage projected growth, ensuring the system can meet future demands without disruption.
Lower Fire Risk
By replacing older lines, relocating them to safer areas (like roads instead of fields or tree lines), clearing vegetation around current lines, and using underground systems or steel poles where practical, we significantly reduce the chances of wildfires.
Additional Benefits
Improved line accessibility allows for easier repairs, reduces outages, and supports modern technologies like fiber attachments without extra preparation work.
2025 projects and ongoing goals in the program include:
- Replacing and upgrading Cherry Creek, Stout Creek, and Three Streams lines. Projected to start in April.
- Continuing work on the Tommy Young line, placing steel poles along Fremont County Road 1A, Foundation work to start in April, with line work slated to start in July.
- Fremont County Road 35, line replacement Starting in April.
- Cottonwood Creek line replacement scheduled for late fall.
- Custer County Road 310, alongside the Silver-West Airport, line replacement, slated for mid to late fall.
- Others include Rosita Hills area (Keepsake loop/Custer County Road 328), Fremont County Road 16 (underground) and upper Horn Creek underground.
- Replacing old underground wire (2 BCN) with better insulated, higher load-capacity line (1/0 JCN).
- Replacing (smaller) class 5 and 6 poles with company standard class 2 poles, with shorter spans and higher load capacity wire.
Grant Information – SDCEA has been accepted for consideration for a Rural Energy for America Program grant between $200,000-500,000 to offset costs incurred while replacing the SDCEA Headquarters building’s HVAC system. This is in addition to a $78,000 rebate for the project from SDCEA’s wholesale power supplier, Tri-State, as part of the Beneficial Electrification program for which SDCEA has been approved. For more information on the Beneficial Electrification program, which provides rebates for energy upgrades in both residential and commercial buildings, please click here. Rebates – Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc.
Staff are looking into opportunities for vegetation management grants.
Scholarship awards – SDCEA’s post-high school education 2025-26 school year scholarship awards were announced. Delia Dimino, Salida High School, received a 4-year, $2,000 per year scholarship.
Other students who received awards from Buena Vista High School were Payton Crites, Macee Young, Kai Johnson, Sydney Feuerstein, Taiya Carl, Ava Mueller, Mason Barnaby, and Cora DeWalt. From Salida High School, Brennan King, Trinity Bertolino, Raeann Shively, and Erika Loyo, Cotopaxi, were awarded one-time $2,000 scholarships. Buena Vista college student Chandler Smethers earned a $2,000 employee-dependent scholarship. Autumn Wingo (BVHS) and Kaia Trever (SHS) were awarded $500 Tri-State and $500 SDCEA matching grants for $1,000 each. Bridget Dawson (BVHS) was awarded a $1,000 Basin Electric Power Cooperative scholarship.
Financial Report
Year-to-date (January 2025):
- Revenues are 12.4 percent over budget due to increased kWh heating sales in January.
- Total expenses are 4.2% over budget. The main driver for the over-budget balance is increased power bill expenses due to buying more power than anticipated because of the increased energy sales.
Award – SDCEA was presented a Ahe’hee’ Nitsxaago (Deepest Appreciation) award from the Navajo Nation for work on the Light up Navajo electrification project in 2024. The project, coordinated by the Colorado Rural Electric Association with participating member cooperatives including SDCEA, provided electric service to 150 Navajo families. In some cases, the families had waited decades for electric service to their homes.
Next board meetings: March 21 and April 23, SDCEA Board Room, Buena Vista.
Agendas are posted 10 days in advance on SDCEA’s website: Board Meeting Agendas & Minutes – Sangre de Cristo Electric Association, Inc.
Executive Session – The board adjourned the executive session to discuss matters to be held in confidence. No action was taken after the executive session.
