10/01/2021

National Energy Awareness Month with Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association

The U.S. Department of Energy has designated October as Energy Awareness Month. At Tri-State, we are recognizing the important role of reliable, affordable and responsible electricity, and the cooperative business model, as our members serve communities across the West.

October is National Energy Awareness Month when we inform and highlight the important role energy plays in our national prosperity, and in the communities our member electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts serve.

Electricity is a lifeline for our rural economies and communities. It powers lights, heats and cools our homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, and powers almost every technology within. From clean water systems, digital technologies, and communication to transportation and production, electricity is intertwined with every aspect of our way of life.

Continual innovations in electricity generation, transmission and distribution guarantee that our nation’s electric grid is ever-changing. America’s electric cooperatives are leading those innovations.

Working together, America’s electric cooperatives are focused on reliability. Natural hazards, weather events, and the threat of cyber and physical attacks on the energy grid are challenges we all face. Together, we are focused on managing these risks and maintaining a stronger, more resilient, and more reliable grid.

We are also focused on the affordability of electric power. Not-for-profit electric cooperatives and public power districts are managed to deliver electricity to consumers at the lowest cost possible. This is critical, as the costs are higher to deliver power across sparsely populated areas of the West. And with cooperatives and public power districts working together through Tri-State, their not-for-profit cooperative power supplier, we can secure the lowest-cost resources, including clean energy like solar and wind, to help power rural communities and keep electricity affordable. 

Finally, we are focused on ensuring that the way we deliver power is responsible. This includes transitioning to cleaner energy sources and reducing emissions, and being responsible to the communities and our employees that are affected by the transition.
 

Our Support of Beneficial Electrification and a Cleaner Grid

As the power we provide boasts more renewable resources, Tri-State and our members support the expanded use of technologies that take full advantage of a cleaner grid. Together, we are leveraging our cleaner grid to further reduce emissions with the use of electric vehicles, more EV charging stations and electric heat pumps, and other technologies, while providing energy efficiency rebates and piloting innovative energy technology projects.

Our People Make the Difference

The electric utility sector is complex. At Tri-State, we exist to manage the many complexities and risks of the wholesale power market for our members. These include market, operational and regulatory risks that come with securing and delivering reliable power. 

At the heart of this work are our employees, who work tirelessly day and night, every day, to keep the lights on. Our power plant employees ensure power is available, and our energy management team ensures our success in working in complex energy markets. Our transmission maintenance employees work around the clock to keep the lights on, even during the toughest winter storms. All of us working together deliver on our mission to provide our members with reliable, affordable and responsible power.

As a family of cooperatives, we are owned and democratically governed by our members, and our board of directors is made up of consumers from across the West. So when decisions are made, know that they are made in the best interest of all those that we serve.

Being aware of how energy serves our nation, and how electric cooperatives power rural communities, is an important part of what we celebrate throughout October. 

Learn more about National Energy Awareness Month, initiatives keeping reliable power flowing, and how you can conserve energy today, making a difference for future generations. Read more about our Responsible Energy Plan, and the achievements we have accomplished so far.

Electrify and Save™ 

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Tri-State is a not-for-profit cooperative of 44 members, including 41 member utility electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in four states, that together deliver reliable, affordable, and responsible power to more than a million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. For more information about Tri-State and our Responsible Energy Plan, visit www.tristate.coop.