Various updates by Eric Eriksen
Electric rates
San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) purchases wholesale electricity from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Cooperative for your homes and businesses. We do this, like 45 other member utilities across four states, because it is the most affordable, reliable and responsible choice over the long run. In 2023 Tri-State filed a request to increase rates with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which we have carefully reviewed. (Tri-State rate increases have been minimal over the past seven years; see graph below). We anticipate the FERC will approve this rate increase request sometime in October. If approved, it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, and REC members will experience about a 3.5 percent increase. This is about $4.34 per month for a typical 700 kWh home.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Rate
EV charging stations are growing in demand. On average, about one person per day uses the new electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station located at REC headquarters. See https://chargehub.com. for details. Have you been considering an electric vehicle and/or wanting to install an EV charger in your home? The REC team is preparing a new EV rate to offer you later this year. We believe this affordable option will better serve members into the future.
Electrify and Save Program
We all want to save money and add value to our homes, small businesses and farms. As inflation continues to rise, the REC team is working hard to find ways to help. I am happy to announce that we will be the first cooperative in Colorado to offer a new “Electrify and Save On-Bill Repayment Program” in 2024. This program will connect members with energy professionals to help evaluate energy efficiency improvements, approved contractors to perform the work and an affordable funding option to save money and increase value. The program’s beta testing phase was launched on Sept. 7, where employee-members are first to enroll and ensure we deliver the best member value.
Federal ERA Grant funding request
I have received lots of inquiries wondering if we would be submitting a New ERA Grant Letter of Intent (LOI) before the Sept. 15 deadline. Good news! We have submitted our LOI before the deadline requesting over $4M in federal funding for our two planned solar projects in 2024. This is in addition to the other recent grant applications we’ve submitted through State and Federal programs (DOLA/DOE/ERRA). We have been busy writing grant applications. You can find more information about this program at www.rd.usda.gov. Thank you for your inquiries and support.
REC is demonstrating its commitment to its members and the wellbeing of the SLV.
Further details on these upcoming changes will be published in the coming months. Feel free to stop in to say “Hi,” write EEriksen@slvrec.com or call anytime, 719-852-6630. I look forward to your feedback, concerns and bright ideas.