Report to the Members
SAFETY
EEA’s mission is to safely, responsibly, and reliably meet the electrical energy needs of our member-owners. You’ll notice that safety is mentioned first. That is because safety is imperative in our business. It takes a continuous focus on safety to be successful in our inherently hazardous and unforgiving industry.
We are pleased to report that there were no lost time accidents at EEA in 2024. We have now gone over seven years since our last lost time accident. To be sure, that is an accomplishment to celebrate and be proud of. However, if we are going to build on our safety record, we must not be satisfied with past accomplishments but instead must daily recommit to ensuring our own safety and the safety of our members.
RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY
EEA strives to serve our members by providing reliable and affordable power. We work to build and maintain a distribution system that will deliver the power you need at an affordable cost.
We have worked over the past several years to build as much redundancy as practical into our system — creating alternate paths for power flow to reduce dependency on any single piece of equipment. A recent outage in Monticello illustrated this: while maintenance was being done on the Cahone feed, RMP’s Pinto substation failed. EEA crews safely and efficiently switched back to the Cahone feed, restoring power within three hours, significantly faster than the surrounding communities.
Investments in flexibility have paid off — members enjoyed 99.97% reliability in 2024. Outages happen, but our people and our infrastructure are ready.
While reliability and affordability are often at odds, we continue to strike the right balance. We’re proud to report no rate increases in 2025, and our residential rates now rank among the top third lowest in Colorado cooperatives, up from 17th in 2015.
FINANCIALS
Tri-State filed for a rate increase to take effect January 1, 2024, but FERC delayed implementation until August. As a result, EEA overcollected $577,882 in the first half of the year. The board voted to defer this to help reduce the 2025 PCA (Power Cost Adjustment).
After the deferral, EEA’s 2024 operating margin was $1,179,559 with a total margin of $5,511,512. Capital credits returned totaled nearly $1.7 million in 2024 and $1.8 million in early 2025. Since 1939, we’ve returned over $43 million to members.
MEMBER SERVICES & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
A 2025 member survey showed customer service now ranks alongside reliability and affordability in importance — a shift from prior years. While automation is useful for routine tasks, our members want real people available when needed. EEA will continue to provide both: digital convenience and personalized service.
In 2024, we donated over $150,000 to scholarships and community causes. We also partnered with Tri-State to provide $325,700 in rebates.
POWER SUPPLY
Our wholesale contract with Tri-State runs through 2050. Tri-State has requested an extension to 2066 to support infrastructure investment. The EEA board has not yet voted on this decision.
MEMBER SERVICES CENTER
EEA is building a new Member Services Center on our E&O campus, which has been in planning since 2009. With land acquired in 2009 and E&O completed in 2013, this final step brings operations together.
The project is funded through property sales, the employee retention tax credit, and the sale of FastTrack, without increasing member rates. Construction began in late 2024 and move-in is expected in early 2026.
THANK YOU
EEA has proudly served members for 86 years. We thank you for your support and look forward to continuing to safely, responsibly, and reliably meet your electrical energy needs.
2025 MEMBER ANNUAL MEETING
📅 Thursday, June 19, 2025
🕠 Registration: 4:30 p.m. | Meeting: 5:30 p.m.
📍 Engineering & Operations Center, 23999 Road L.4, Cortez, CO
🎁 Members who attend receive a $10 credit on their electric bill!
