GUNNISON COUNTY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

[GCEA News]

ColoradoCountryLife.coopAugust 2014 7

WWhat happens when your power goes out after normal business hours? Two on-call line-men receive a phone call from Gunnison County dispatch with names and addresses for the outages. They use this information to figure out how far power is flowing and where to find the problem. If its a big outage, the linemen call their su-pervisor and contact additional linemen for assistance.

The linemen start looking for the problem at the closest substation where special equipment provides information to find the distance to faults. Reclos-ers located at the substation are circuit breakers equipped with a mechanism that automatically closes the breaker after it has been opened by a fault. The reclosers sectionalize the distribution system. Reclosers also have fault current capability, and this tells the linemen how far to travel to help sectional-ize the piece of line where the fault occurred. When the linemen identify what is out, they patrol between the sectionalizing devices. If they do not see any unsafe situations, they go back and try the line. In some locations the linemen may have the capability to use an alternate route for power to reenergize members. If they find a bad piece of line, it must be broken apart, repaired and tested between those sections.

Once the problem is identified it

can be fixed. Com-mon causes of outages include tree branches in lines, snow unload-ing off a power line, a broken pole or a fallen electrical line. Under-ground faults caused by bad cable or splices can

take longer to resolve in the winter. To make these repairs, the linemen must first remove snow, cut into frozen ground with a jack hammer and finish with hand dig-ging. Large winter outages, like the one in December 2007, may require the linemen to work for two days straight with little sleep.

Although outages are inconvenient to our members, rest assured that our linemen work hard to resolve problems quickly and safely. When you call to let us know you are out of power, it really helps

the line crew narrow the size of the outage, and in some cases you may be the only one out of power. If you see linemen around town, you might want to thank them, for they do care about keeping the lights on.

Energizing Our MembersBY ALANTHA GARRISON || MEMBER SERVICES REPRESENTATIVEAND JOHN STOEBER || LEAD FOREMAN

[whats inside]n Paperless Billing Contest Winnern Annual Meeting Momentsn GCEA Employee Retiresn Operation Round-Upn Home Energy Efficiencyn 2014 GCEA Scholarship Winners

John Stoeber and Alantha Garrison

MAILING ADDRESSP.O. Box 180Gunnison, CO 81230-0180

STREET ADDRESS37250 West Highway 50Gunnison, CO 81230

970-641-3520 [Gunnison]970-349-5385 [Crested Butte]

gcea@gcea.coop [email]www.gcea.coop [web]

BOARD OF DIRECTORSChris Morgan, presidentDistrict 2 [Mt. Crested Butte]

John Vader, vice presidentDistrict 6 [Gunnison East/Sargents]

Paul Hudgeons, secretary/treasurerDistrict 5 [Lake City]

Bart Laemmel, assistant secretary/treasurerDistrict 3 [Ohio Creek/Almont]

Chuck Cliggett, directorDistrict 7 [at large]

Steve Schechter, directorDistrict 4 [Gunnison West/Powderhorn]

Greg Wiggins, directorDistrict 1 [Crested Butte]

[GCEA News]

ColoradoCountryLife.coop8 August 2014

Paperless Billing Contest WinnerWWinner, winner, read all about it! Each fiscal quarter, GCEA holds a drawing for mem-bers who enroll for the first time for paperless billing during that quarter. The lucky winner who received a $100 Visa gift card for the second quarter is Frank Salvato.

GCEA offers members an easy and convenient way of accessing their account infor-mation online through SmartHub. Not only is it convenient for you, your cooperative also saves money, and paperless billing helps the environment.

If you are not already signed up, and would like to help the environment and have a chance to win, log on to gcea.smarthub.coop. If you do not already have a user name and password, you will need to create one. Once you are logged in, click on My Pro-file, click on Update My Printed Bill Settings, then click on Turn off Printed Bills. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 970-641-3520.

ANNUAL MEETING MOMENTSThe 75th Annual Meeting was all about trying new things. Gunnison Working Foreman Ron Copenhaver takes a child on a bucket truck ride, which was a fun, new event.

A new attraction for the Annual Meeting was bucket truck rides. At left, kids enjoy the rides with linemen, while our members watch from below.

Members enjoy great food and

good conversation.

Instead of GCEA cooking the food, we

asked for help from the F-Bar. They served a delicious barbecue,

a big hit with GCEA members.

Speaker and local celebrity Dr. Duane Vandenbusche is a sensation with members,

giving an entertaining and informal presentation ofthe history of Gunnison and GCEA.

2014

[GCEA News]

ColoradoCountryLife.coopAugust 2014 9

G

[employee anniversary]

Congratulations! We value our employees!

Greg Katheiser ........................................................................... Meter Reader/ Vehicle Maintenance, 19 years

2014

Gunnison County Electric Association says farewell to Vicki Spencer, man-ager of external affairs, after six years of dedication to the cooperative.

Vicki had a wide range of respon-sibilities at GCEA including writing grant proposals, coordinating energy efficiency workshops, developing the GCEA website, organizing Youth Tour and creating the monthly newsletter in Colorado Country Life magazine.

Her extensive education and unique experience made her uniquely suited for many of the challenges faced by GCEA in recent years, says Mike McBride, GCEAs chief executive officer. I cant overstate the value that Vicki provided with her legal background and experience with the Endangered Species Act during the proposed listing of the Gunnison sage-grouse.

Dan McDonough, GCEA consumer services supervisor, describes Vicki as highly educated, meticulous, focused, a go-getter and active in the cooperative community. Her focus is straight ahead, but she also has a really big heart, he says.

Over the years, Vickis hard work at GCEA made a positive impact on the cooperative and its members. GCEA has been very fortunate to benefit from Vickis talents and expertise. It will be impossible to replace her, McBride says. Her involve-ment in the community and at the state level was really quite extraordinary.

Vicki retired to spend more time with her family and to travel. However, she says she doesnt want to disappear from the cooperative scene, so dont be surprised if you see her at GCEA headquarters consulting on various projects.

We have a very strong co-op family here and Ive enjoyed working with them, Vicki says. Ill miss the day-to-day inter-action, the employees and the co-op membership.

Im going to miss having her around, McDonough says. Together, we made a good team.

On behalf of GCEA and the rest of the Colorado electric cooperative community, we wish Vicki the best of times during her retirement.

Esteemed GCEA Employee Retires

Vicki Spencer

CCollege tuition keeps rising every year and it gets harder and harder for families to pay for it. Luckily, Gunnison County Electric Associa-tion members have an opportunity to support the educational funds of youth in the service territory by participating in Operation Round-Up. Members are not required to participate, but GCEA would greatly appreciate the donation to the scholarship fund.

This is how it works members who volunteer will have their monthly bill rounded up to the next highest dollar. For example, if your bill is $52.30, you would pay $53. The extra 70 cents goes into a special account. Once you sign up for the program, GCEA automatically rounds up the bill each month. GCEA has awarded more than $15,000 per year to students within the ser-vice territory. Every little bit helps send students to college to live out their dreams. For more information, please contact member services at 970-641-3520.

Operation Round-Up

Keep Your Home Energy Efficient While Youre Away

While away on vacation, make sure to prepare your home to cut down on electrical costs. The Energy Education Council recom-mends you change thermostat settings before you leave. When temperatures are warm outside, it is unnecessary to keep your home as cool as you normally would if youre away. Turn the ther-mostat up to a warmer temperature. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can adjust it to cool the house just in time for your return home.

Even when appliances are turned off, many go into standby mode and continue to draw power. You will not use your com-puter, television or toaster while you are away, but they will con-tinue to use energy and waste money if they are not unplugged. Unplugging items also protects your electronics if there is a power surge in your absence.

The water heater can account for 15 to 25 percent of the aver-age energy bill. Either adjust the water heater temperature to the lowest setting, or turn it off if you will be gone for more than three days.

For more tips on keeping your home safe and efficient year-round, visit EnergyEdCouncil.org.

[GCEA News]

ColoradoCountryLife.coop10 August 2014

SScholarships are a tradition at Gunnison County Electric Association for students residing in the service area. For decades, GCEA has provided scholarship assistance for graduating seniors to pursue an education beyond high school thanks to the generosity of the board of directors, Tri-State Generation and Transmission and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. The 48 recipients are listed with their chosen institution. 2014 GCEA Scholarship Winners

Not pictured: Denise Alarcon, Western State Colorado University; David Bright, University of Colorado, Boulder; Debra Brooks, Western State Colorado University; Jena DAquila, Western State Colorado University; Karleigh Dean, Colorado State University; Jennifer Ehmsen, Regis University; Keanan Garnes, Colorado Mesa University; Jacob Grogg, University of Colorado; Amy Harmon, Western State Colorado University; Marissa Lambert, University of Denver; Drew Nelson, Colorado State University;

Lyndsey Oberosler, University of Northern Colorado; Ashley Peterson, Baylor University; Jade Schichtel, University of Colorado; Dylan Smith, Western State Colorado University; Kristie Stahlnecker, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; Stefan Whiting, Colorado School of Mines; Leah Wrisley, Colorado Mesa University.

Sydney ArchuletaUniversity of Denver

Derek BrooksWestern State CO University

Josephine Byronundecided

Daniele DAquilaundecided

Brent DidericksenWestern State CO University

Suzanna Dumasundecided

Daniel FileMasters College

Karley GuthmillerBlack Hills State University

Abigail HirdColorado State University

Matthew HowardRed Rocks Commun. College

Bryce JohnstonTexas A&M University

William KleinFort Lewis College

Lily LambertUniversity of Colorado

Alyssa McGuireUndecided

Mina MoscatelliUniversity of Oregon

Brennan OHaganUniversity of Colorado

Mackenzie OlesenUniversity of Colorado

Marissa OsmundsonCal Poly State University

Morgan OsterlingUniversity of New England

Madeline PulleyWestern State CO University

Sarah ShamblinColorado State University

Meri SpezialettiWestern State CO University

Conner StahlneckerWestern State CO University

Madeline TalbotUniversity of Puget Sound

Kirstin WhitingColorado State University

Dakota WigginsCU-Boulder

Montana WigginsColorado State University

Jessie DeanFranklin Univer., Switzerland

Molly FosterCU-Boulder

Mara McLaughlinUniversity of St. Andrews