Part of the reason San Isabel Electric rates are so heavily influenced by weather is because there aren’t a lot of industrial or manufacturing businesses that have large, steady loads, or consistent demand for electricity in our service area.
Having steady, consistent demand improves our load factor, or how consistently our electric system is being used compared to its peak demand. This doesn’t mean large loads would make rates go down, but large loads with steady, predictable electric use can relieve some of the pressure created by unpredictable weather and changes in demand.
A large business that hits 3,000 kW once but spends most of the month operating far below that isn’t necessarily the kind of steady load that can improve SIEA’s load factor. What matters is not just that it’s large, but that its electric use is relatively steady and predictable.
LARGE LOADS WON’T “TAKE ALL THE POWER”
Before serving a new large load, SIEA and our power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, determine what infrastructure is needed to safely and reliably meet the new load’s electrical needs. SIEA requires new large loads to fund the construction and material costs associated with building the new service lines and infrastructure it requires to operate.
This protects the membership both electrically and financially. Existing members still have access to the electricity they need when they need it. And if a new large commercial or industrial account goes belly up, the co-op and its existing members aren’t left paying for infrastructure that was built solely to serve that business.
SIEA also doesn’t decide which businesses are allowed to locate within the communities we serve. If a local government approves a company with a large electric load to do business in a community, SIEA has an obligation to provide electric service, provided the applicable requirements for service are met. That’s because Colorado utilities have designated service territories rather than competing for individual customers.
Our existing rules and policies are designed to protect all members by making sure large loads don’t compromise reliable electric service or leave the rest of the membership footing the bill for the infrastructure needed to serve them.
