2008 - La Plata Electric Association, Inc.

photo: mccarson jones70 Years of ServiceBy Greg W. Munro, Chief Executive OfficerThe year 2008 was, indeed, a rollercoaster ride. It beganwith one of the worst snow storms we have experiencedin many years, and closed with a down turn in the nationaleconomy that many have assured was also among the worstwe’d seen in decades.While we do welcome that winter snowpack to help ensurethat our reservoirs are filled in advance of the dry seasons, thesnowstorm of January 2008 severely impacted LPEA’s system.As you know, thousands of people were out of power, somefor days. Our crews worked tirelessly, and we welcomed thesupport from many contractors, Tri-State and our sistercooperative, Empire Electric. I am proud to report that thesystem was repaired and power restored without one accidentor injury. The cost, however, exceeded a half million dollars.Even with the increased cost of this significant outage, in2008 we met all of our financial objectives and requirements. Yes, expenses were higherthan usual, but we found savings in other areas.Last year, I reported that, due to unprecedented growth, we were facing many challengesin meeting the growing demand for electricity. In 2008, however, we saw almost a completeturnaround, as residential and commercial growth came to a virtual standstill in the latterpart of the year. Thanks to the oil and gas industry, which maintained its steady growth andcontinues to do so today, Southwest Colorado has not been hit quite as hard as othercommunities and electric coops that are experiencing business closures and major layoffs.But we are not immune.At LPEA we contract out many tasks related to growth, such as engineering, right-of-wayacquisition, permitting and line construction. Those contracted entities do feel the painand have been forced to lay people off due to lack of work. Even though contractors aresometimes more costly than if we performed all these tasks in house, I feel utilizingcontractors helps us better manage the ups and downs. This past year, it’s a good thingfor LPEA that we maintained this philosophy, otherwise we would be experiencing layoffsas well.I have always believed that additional staff should be hired only when we needmore assistance in meeting the base workload requirements to provide services to ourmembership, including maintaining the electric system and keeping the lights on.We continue to make certain we have the right number of employees with the right talents.Our ten-year workforce plan is continually reviewed and updated. We’re currently findingthat our staff is putting off retirement because they now cannot afford it, which is just oneexample of the need to stay on top of our plans for the future.In 2009 we will continue our efforts to meet your service needs, grow our energyefficiency programs, maintain financial strength and keep those lights on, all at the lowestreasonable cost while being environmentally responsible.We have many new challenges ahead, however, including working with Tri-StateGeneration and Transmission Association, our wholesale power supplier, to help them keepelectricity generation costs reasonable. We are also seeing increasing regulation on the stateand federal levels that will raise our costs, but we will manage those increases as best we can.Thank you for being a great membership, which we are very proud to serve. Please joinme in wishing LPEA a happy 70th birthday! 4Hauling PolesRaising poles with the teamY2 La Plata Electric Association | www.lpea.coop