October 2023 Board Summary
PrintBoard Meeting 10.25.23
On-Bill Repayment, Energy Upgrade Plan – Tri-State Generation and Transmission, SDCEA’s wholesale power provider, is working with Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) and SDCEA to launch an on-bill repayment program for our members.
The on-bill repayment program is a mechanism by which members may elect to install certain energy upgrades to their property at no upfront cost and repay the cost of the measure and installation via a voluntary tariff on their monthly utility bill. CCEF/Tri-State provides the upfront funding for the installation.
CCEF is responsible for administering the program, and SDCEA will bill customers on their monthly bill to recover CCEF’s costs over an agreed-upon period. In some cases, the energy savings achieved through the newly installed measures are greater than the monthly repayment obligation, thereby saving members money on their utility bill.
SDCEA and CCEF are developing on-bill authorized contractors for the program and preparing our billing software to facilitate it. Once the program is in place, advertising and marketing will be rolled out to promote it.
Capital Credits – Sangre de Cristo Electric Association (SDCEA) is a non-profit electric cooperative. At the end of the year, our financial statements show whether revenue exceeded costs and resulted in a positive margin. 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.
If you had electric service with SDCEA during a year for which the board of directors has approved the return of capital credits, that amount will be reflected as a bill credit on your November bill. For those who move to a new location and no longer receive service on our lines, it is important to leave a forwarding address with us, as we will send you a refund check instead of a bill credit.
In December 2022, SDCEA refunded credits to members on November bills who received service in 1997 and 2004. SDCEA posted credit on November bills to 3,738 accounts and sent 6865 checks for a total refund of $239,080.
117 Contract – The board has approved SDCEA’s renewal of their 117 contract with Tri-State. This contract allows SDCEA to sell renewable energy credits from local eligible projects to Tri-State. By selling these credits, SDCEA can sell excess energy in the marketplace, while helping Tri-State and other member cooperatives who obtain energy from Tri-State, to meet their renewable energy goals. Neither SDCEA, nor individual solar producers on our system, are big enough players in the energy marketplace to effectively sell RECs on our own.
Annual Meeting – The SDCEA 2024 Annual Meeting date was set for June 11, 2024, in Custer County. Board elections will be held by June 6, 2024. Candidate nomination petitions are scheduled to be available for candidates Jan. 2 and and biographies will be due to SDCEA by April 1.
Financial Report
Year-to-date (September 2023): Revenues are 4.5% over budget due to selling more power than forecasted in the budget. The 2023 budget is based on SDCEA’s year over year average of kwh sales, with a slight increase for growth in number of consumers and sales. January-April 2023 was colder than January-April of 2022, and some increased growth continued during July, possibly due to cooling demands during July. Year-to-Date, more kilowatt hour sales (4.3% higher) have occurred than budgeted. The cooperative in turn purchased additional power to cover this increase in sales. This increased purchased power expense was primarily offset by a decrease in operating expenses due to several employment positions being open and lower than budgeted interest expenses on long-term debt. Overall, total expenses are within 1% of the budget.
Operations Report
Wildfire Mitigation Update:
SDCEA presented its fire mitigation and vegetation management program to Chaffee, Lake and Custer County Commissioners in September.
Two mitigation crews are working in Lake County and will move to Fremont and Custer counties for the remainder of the year. SDCEA will increase to 3 or 4 crews at the start of the new budget year and is developing a plan to perform cutting in the town of Buena Vista.
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 Spend: $4,705,537
Amount Remaining to Spend: $4,309,769
2023 Budget $1,965,214
2023 Spend Yeart to Date $1,591,166
2023 Budget Remaining $374,047
Total Trees Removed – 9360
Total Trees Trimmed – 2292
Hazard Trees Removed – 477
