NEWS CLIPS
Sen. John Hickenlooper answers questions from electric co-op directors, managers and staff members during their visit to Washington, D.C.
CO-OPS VISIT WASHINGTON, D.C.
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irectors, managers and staff members for Colorado electric co-ops joined hundreds of other co-op representatives from across the country in Washington, D.C., May 2–3 for the annual co-op legislative fly-in. They spent a day learning about federal issues that affect electric co-ops and another day meeting with Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper (D) and staff from the office of Sen. Michael Bennet (D), as Sen. Bennet had tested positive for COVID-19. The co-ops also met with staff members from all of Colorado’s U.S. representatives. There was also a discussion with a representative of the Department of Energy on funding for projects through the recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Co-op Magazine Plants Trees
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olorado Country Life magazine supports planting trees each month and has done so since 2018. A total of 14,395 trees have been planted in reforestation projects in North Dakota and California to replace the paper used to print the magazine. For 70 years, Colorado’s electric co-ops have sent this magazine to you because it is the most effective and economical way to share information on your local electric co-op. The magazine, which is read by more than 80% of the co-op consumer-members receiving it, provides you, as a voting member of your co-op, with information about your co-op’s services, director elections, member meetings, and staff and management decisions. And, through a verified program called PrintReleaf, trees continue to be planted.
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COLOR ADO COUNTRY LIFE JUNE 2022
Colorado Co-ops Again Bring Light to Small Guatemalan Rural Village The lights will come on in mid-August in La Montanita de la Virgen, Guatemala, thanks to a team of 16 lineworkers, including four from Colorado electric co-ops. The team, which leaves the United States August 1, will build a 19.9 kilovolt single-phase distribution line on poles provided and set by the villagers. That line will bring electricity to 72 homes, a school, a church and a health center. More than 250 people live in this small village about three hours east of Guatemala City. It sits at an elevation of about 4,500 feet with mostly pine trees, banana trees and pineapples growing in the area. About 80 students attend the local elementary school. This is the third project in Guatemala for Colorado’s electric co-ops. Watch for information on how to help send backpacks and other supplies to the students in the village.
NW Colorado Rancher Wins Conservation Award The conservation practices of electric co-op consumer-members Keith and Shelly Pankey and their children on their ranch in Moffat and Routt counties earned them the annual Colorado Leopold Conservation Award. The award is sponsored, in part, by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the power supplier for 17 of the state’s 22 electric co-ops. The award is given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold and recognizes ranchers, farmers and forestland owners who inspire others with their voluntary conservation efforts on private, working lands. The Pankey family, who raises beef cattle, has always done right by their land. That was tested when a wildfire burned nearly half of their ranch in 2018. The family then cleaned their ponds and reseeded native grasses on 900 acres. They also replaced wind-powered well pumps with solar pumps, added new water storage tanks and miles of natural flow pipelines to expand the number of watering stations and improve the ability to properly graze cattle while also creating wildlife habitat. The family’s commitment to conservation is an inspiration.
