Colorado Rural Electric Assn.

It's been a busy yet empowering day at the #CREA Annual Meeting. This afternoon, guests had the incredible opportunity to hear from Walter Haase, the General Manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. In 2024, the goal was to #connect 150 homes, but #volunteer crews exceeded expectations by #connecting 170 homes. Seven #Colorado co-ops sent 26 volunteers to help #electrify these homes. This initiative, along with the #participation of Colorado's electric co-ops, highlights the #cooperative principle of Concern for Community and showcases our #commitment to #community outreach and support. Thank you, Walter, for sharing your message about this great #project!

This morning at the 2025 #CREA Annual Meeting, attendees had the opportunity to hear from a #panel of subject matter #experts regarding #wildfire issues in #Colorado and their associated #impacts. Wildfire #mitigation remains a top #priority for Colorado's electric #cooperatives, and the insights shared by our guest speakers were #invaluable. Thank you to our #panelists: Virginia harman from Mountain Parks Electric, Inc., Michael Conway from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Michael Morgan from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control, and our panel #moderator, Corey Parr from Federated Insurance.

We're excited to kick off CREA's 80th Annual Meeting! This year, our focus is on fostering #connections, and we are thrilled to #celebrate this significant milestone with our outstanding #members and industry leaders. To kick things off, we had a fantastic time with some fun #game day activities! 🏈 Thank you to everyone who joined us for our #football festivities and enjoyed the delicious #game day snacks.   Stay tuned to CREA's LinkedIn page for more #updates on this year's annual meeting. 

As we #celebrate 80 years of #connections, we look forward to many more #meaningful and #powerful moments in the future. Thank you for joining us on this #historic throwback—your support means everything. We can’t wait to continue sharing #updates with you at this year’s #annual meeting! 🔗

🔗80 YEARS OF CONNECTION - 2019🔗     In 2019, Colorado's #electric co-ops teamed up with #Oklahoma to bring light to the #Guatemalan villages of Pie del Cerro and Tierra Blanca Salinas. Seven men from #Colorado and eight from Oklahoma spent 19 grueling days in late September and early October to bring #electricity to more than 50 homes in each #community. ⚡️    Today, #CREA continues to #partner with Colorado's electric #cooperatives on #philanthropic projects to serve #communities far and wide. ❤️

🔗80 YEARS OF CONNECTION - 2018🔗     #CREA has a long tradition of hosting Mesa Hotline School. Typically, in the first two weeks of #May, come rain or shine, #lineworkers from across the state and country visit Grand Junction for Hotline School. ⚡️     📸 Photo courtesy of Joshua Scott Smith 

🔗80 YEARS OF CONNECTION - 2012🔗     In September #2012, Colorado's electric co-ops joined other #bicyclists for the first Pedal the Plains bike tour. This inaugural bicycle #tour took riders to Yuma, Wray, and Burlington. The tour focused on the community spirit that #thrives on the #plains. 🚴🏽♀️🏔️    Colorado's electric #cooperatives took part in the ride every year from 2012 until the event's final year in 2021. 

It's the first class of the year! This week, #CREA hosted a Level 1 Line Design and Staking Course focused on basic #power line surveying, #overhead structure design, unique structures, and joint-use #staking. During the class, #attendees learned how to make accurate distance #measurements, turn and bisect line angles, and #measure changes in #elevation using basic #surveying instruments. Thank you to everyone who attended!

🔗80 YEARS OF CONNECTION - 2010🔗     The Energy Innovations #Summit is the most anticipated event of the year, originating in #2010. CREA hosted its first #Energy Innovations Summit that year, focusing on #solar energy #technologies, the smart #grid, the future of nuclear #energy, #transmission gridlock, energy #efficiency, and more. ☀️⚡️     #CREA has continued to host this #event annually, and we hope to see you at this year's Energy Innovations Summit on November 1-4, 2025 at the Westin Westminster. 🥳

CREA and the #Colorado co-op community had a fantastic presence at the recent #panel discussions organized by the Energy Bar Association during the Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA) and Storage Mountain West #conference in Denver this week! Taylor Ward, CREA’s Director of Government Relations, joined a #panel to chat about the future of #energy policy with the Trump Administration. Meanwhile, Derek Elder, Chief Administrative Officer at Grand Valley Power gave an insightful talk on how #unethical practices in the #solar industry affect #electric co-ops. Last but not least, Craig Johnson, #CREA Director of Policy and Strategy and General Counsel, led a lively #discussion on net metering #policy. It was an excellent opportunity for everyone to come together and share valuable #insights!