City, PRPA Are Electrical Teammates Occurs, Service Is Usually Restored in Just an Hour Or Two

Paid for by the City of Loveland

Dateline: 28-282890

This service used 24/7 by everyone Some Loveland residents use the Loveland Public But there’s one City service everyone uses — Library. Some don’t. Some use the City’s golf courses. every day, every hour—electrical power. Whether you’re Some don’t. It’s the same with many other City services at home, at work or 1,000 miles away on vacation, there’s and facilities such as the recreation center, fire inspections, electrical service being provided and used. art workshops, bike lanes, the Rialto Theater and more. City, PRPA are electrical teammates occurs, service is usually restored in just an hour or two. If an outage does occur, restoring power quickly is Water and Power’s first priority. This includes attention to the department’s list of special needs customers such as residents relying on electrical equipment for their health and safety. Loveland’s large businesses with major electrical needs are also a high priority. Squirrels and humans are the most Rawhide Energy Station frequent causes of local outages. A squirrel touch- Payments for electricity used by Love- entities or purchases power if needed. This ing a transformer on an electric pole can pay the land homes, businesses and other utility cus- way, if unexpected high demand or an interrup- ultimate price for causing an outage. An errant tomers are made to the City of Loveland. But tion of generating service should occur, reliable motorist who hits a pole or one of those green while the City provides the electricity through its electricity is available. switchboxes at an intersection can be to blame. In distribution system, the City is not the source of We deliver addition, Mother Nature’s lightning can light up the the power. Loveland receives its electricity from PRPA sky and darken a neighborhood. Almost all of Loveland’s electric- transmission lines at six local substations. Sufficient capacity ity comes from Platte River Power Authority Transformers at the substations step down the Unlike cities on the West Coast and else- (PRPA), a publicly-owned, not-for-profit whole- high voltage transmission to lower levels for where, Loveland’s electrical capacity is very good. sale electric utility. PRPA is jointly owned by the local use. The City’s 530 miles of distribution There’s enough capacity to serve Loveland, even municipalities of Loveland, Fort Collins, Estes lines deliver power to the City’s nearly 32,000 on very high demand days, usually occurring during Park and Longmont. electric customers. the summer due to air conditioner use. The Rawhide Energy Station, about 3 The power is carried from substations As Loveland grows bringing additional resi- miles west of I-25, 26 miles north of Fort Col- to homes and businesses throughout Loveland, dential and industrial needs, the City will continue lins, generates the majority of PRPA’s power. primarily by underground cables. About 120 to expand its electrical service delivery system. One coal-powered turbine and five miles of overhead lines still exist and are being Existing substations are being expanded to serve natural gas-powered turbines generate elec- phased out wherever feasible. All new devel- areas of growth throughout the city, especially the tricity that flows through PRPA’s 700 miles of opments install underground electric service. east part of town. transmission lines. Ten wind turbines near Nearly perfect More good news for Loveland electric Medicine Bow, Wyo. and an 18 percent share in While nothing is ever perfect, electric customers is the bottom line. The cost to residents the coal-fired Yampa Project near Craig are also reliability in Loveland comes very close. Elec- for electrical power is among the lowest in Colo- generation sources. tric service efficiency exceeds 99.99 percent. rado. Residents today pay only about 6 cents per PRPA is part of the western U.S. power Loveland hasn’t suffered a major outage in a kilowatt-hour (kWh), less than the 6.5 cents/(kWh) grid. If PRPA has extra power, it sells it to other long time. When an occasional minor outage residents paid in 1984. Power Cost Green, not brown, Colorado Electricity Costs for 700 kWh $110 is alert concern $104.35 $100 Power peaks are often misunderstood here $90 in Loveland. Power reductions are encouraged not $80.81 $80 for fear of a brownout but to help keep green in cus- $76.95 $70 tomers’ wallets. When demand exceeds normal levels and $60 $63.70 $64.74 $56.95 hits a peak, extra generating capacity is required $50 $48.71 $49.20 and/or power is purchased from other sources on $42.82 $40 the western electric grid in addition to the power $30 produced by Platte River Power Authority (PRPA). Longmont Fort Collins Xcel Haxtun San Luis Valley This extra level of power costs more and those costs Loveland Colo. Springs Estes Park LaJunta eventually get passed along to PRPA owner commu- Loveland residents’ costs for electrical power is among the lowest in Colorado. On average a residential customer uses about nities. 725 kilowatts per month. Throughout the state, monthly bills range from about $45 to $104 for 700 kWh of power. Conservation (Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities Survey, January 2008) and thinking ahead can reduce the need for this Current Energy Efficiency Programs higher-cost electricity. For Loveland Water and Power offers programs aimed at improving energy efficiency for resi- example, when hot weather dents and business alike. Residential programs include: is expected, reduce the AC at home during the day when at work. Another Partnering with Power Air conditioner power demand reduction suggestion is to wait until GreenSwitch Renewable energy purchase options evening when the alert is Online Bill Estimator Identifying home electrical use sources lifted before running a dryer Lighting With a Twist Encouraging use of CFL lighting or dishwasher. Attention to energy usage For information on these programs, or programs for business customers, contact the W&P helps keep costs down for offices at 962-3000 or visit www.cityofloveland.org. everyone.

For Your Refrigerator -- Clip and Post Power By the Numbers Rawhide generation (2007) 2.3 million MWh Loveland distribution 660,000 MWh Be Informed Electric revenue (Loveland) $36.2 million Some or all of these sources may be utilized during an emergency or special situation. The nature of the situation will dictate what sources Coal burned (2007) 1,300,000 tons at Rawhide will be utilized. Setup and staffing for some resources will not occur Loveland customers 31,800 immediately. Rawhide begins 1984, commercial operation Avg. residential use 725 kWh/month City of Loveland Info Sources: Underground distribution lines 412 miles www.cityofloveland.org Official City website PRPA employees 222 1610 AM radio City’s AM radio station Summer peak usage 128 MW Channel 16 cable TV City cable TV channel Overhead lines 120 miles Phone 962-2020 Info line/call center Loveland power efficiency 99.99 % Phone 911 Emergency police/fire Winter peak usage 96 MW Emergency Phone Notification (EPN) Recorded phone calls Emergency coal supply 60 days (Rawhide) (land lines, not cell) Loveland service area 59 sq. mi. Emergency Alert System (EAS) Emergency messages City electric employees 48 FTE on TV & radio Loveland use 22 % of PRPA generation Other sources: Bison 46 at Rawhide site www.larimer.org Larimer County Website Wind turbines 10 Phone 211 Area assistance phone info line Rawhide generators/turbines 6 www.firstcall211.org 211 website Loveland substations 6