GUNNISON COUNTY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

[GCEA News]
[whats inside]
Employee Anniversary
n New Partnership with Western
State Colo. University (WSCU)
n Favorite Employee Holiday Dishes
n LED Light Rebate
n

Heating Costs Leaving You Cold?

MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 180
Gunnison, CO 81230-0180
STREET ADDRESS
37250 West Highway 50
Gunnison, CO 81230
970-641-3520 [Gunnison]
970-349-5385 [Crested Butte]
gcea@gcea.coop [email]
www.gcea.coop [web]
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John Vader, president
District 6 [Gunnison East/Sargents]
Greg Wiggins, vice president
District 1 [Crested Butte]
Paul Hudgeons, secretary/treasurer
District 5 [Lake City]
Bart Laemmel, assistant secretary/treasurer
District 3 [Ohio Creek/Almont]
Chuck Cliggett, director
District 7 [at large]
Chris Morgan, director
District 2 [Mt. Crested Butte]
Steve Schechter, director
District 4 [Gunnison West/Powderhorn]
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Logann Peterson

coloradocountrylife.coop

SMALL CO-OP, BIG REGULATIONS

BY ROGER GROGG || CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

In the years prior to 2014, Gunbook and will need to be shared

nison County Electric Associawith the employees to ensure we
tion shared a regulatory compliare all on the same page with
ance officer with two other
proper procedures.
co-ops. In July of 2013, GCEA
The GCEA compliance team
decided to assemble an in-house
was one of the first to rewrite
regulatory compliance team to
its safety manual in 2013 and
help lower expenses and to take Roger Grogg
GCEA is proud of this. Howsome pressure off of rates to
ever, in 2014 OSHA revised and
our members. In 2014, GCEA started out
adopted several new rules that relate to
somewhat on its own. GCEA still has the
the electric industry. GCEA has tried to
support of the experts at Colorado Rural
incorporate these changes into the new
Electric Association and leans on them to
safety manual but there are too many
answer questions and provide guidance
changes to squeeze in, so we are looking
on several issues, as well as to help with
at another complete rewrite in early 2015.
rule interpretation.
One of the good things about in-house
Our in-house compliance team consists of five
people representing several areas of compliance
within the co-op. This
team focuses mostly on
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
rules as well as the GCEA safety manual
compliance is that we are getting the
and all of the tracking and documentaentire company involved.
tion that goes along with field operations.
We are sending employees to trainThe inside compliance is a large part of
ing where they can get certified to teach
the co-op and is mostly taken care of
topics. This led to a team approach where
in-house as well as by the accounting
everyone plays a role and we have a better
and billing departments. Some examples
in-house understanding of the rules as
of what the compliance team works on
well as ownership of the program. This
are written procedures which include
is currently a work in progress and we
lockout/tagout procedures, hazard
have a long way to go, but I feel we are on
communications, spill prevention control
the right track. There is a comfort having
and countermeasures (SPCC), hazard
CREA help with guidance and we still
communication and many others. This
utilize their job training and safety perprocedures book needs constant updatson four times a year. We also want them
ing and an annual review. Any changes in to perform a compliance audit a couple
rules or changes in how GCEA operates
times a year to ensure we are staying cur[continued on page 8]
the system will require an update to the
rent.

SAFETY

NOVEMBER 2014

[GCEA News]
Small Co-op, Big Regulations
[continued from page 7]

You may think these regulations are voluntary, but they are
requirements. The new fall protection rule costs the co-op
$12,000 in fall protection devices. It keeps linemen safer and,
as a rule, this helps reduce injuries. Anything that is considered safety equipment is paid for by the employer, and as you
can imagine the electrical industry is heavily invested in safety.
Regulatory compliance is a good thing for the industry and helps
protect the workers and the environment, but it is expensive.
Regulatory compliance affects your electric rates from generation to distribution of electricity.
At GCEA we take great pride in our compliance program
while trying to control costs to our members. Although we are a
small co-op, we have the same requirements as the big boys.

[employee anniversary]
Kelley Willis............................................................................. Accountant 5 years
Congratulations! We value our employees!

GCEA WINTER HOURS BEGIN NOVEMBER 10

On November 10, GCEAs

office hours will change to

8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Monday-Friday

My Co-op Calendar
Daylight-Saving Time Ends
(Set clocks back one hour)....................................November 2
Election Day.................................................................November 4
Winter Office Hours Begin
(8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)......................................................November 10
Veterans Day.............................................................. November 11
Thanksgiving Office Closed................ November 27
Office Closed................................................November 28
Night of Lights on
Main Street, Gunnison............................................ December 5

ENERGY TIP
To save energy this month, try lowering
your water heating costs. Water heating
can account for 14 to 25 percent of the
energy you consume in your home.
Turn the water heaters temperature
to 120 degrees, which can be done by
changing the temperature setting from
hot to warm on some water heaters.
This will save energy and help you save
on your monthly bill.

GCEAs New Partnership With

Western State Colorado University

GCEA is pleased to announce a new partnership with Western

State Colorado University for GCEAs income-based weatherization
program. The master in environmental management (MEM) program
at WSCU prepares students for careers in environmental nonprofit
development, green business consulting, sustainability coordinating
for municipalities and universities, public lands management and water
and land conversation. You can find out more about Westerns master
program at western.edu/mem. MEM student Sam Kozel was selected
for a fellowship provided by GCEA and will be working on outreach
for the weatherization program. We are excited to work with Sam and
WSCU.
GCEAs weatherization program is designed to help income-qualified members receive weatherization services for free. This program is
available due to partnerships with Tri-State Generation and Transmission, the Colorado Energy Office, Housing Resources of Colorado and
Western State Colorado University. For more information about the
program, contact GCEA at 970-641-3520.

NOVEMBER 2014

GCEA WEBSITE
GCEAs new and improved website is up and
running. Go check it out at www.gcea.coop
coloradocountrylife.coop

[GCEA News]

Favorite Employee Holiday Dishes

Make your Thanksgiving meal great with these shared favorites

Give thanks for family and friends by making these GCEA

favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Plan the ultimate holiday feast
with recipes for appetizers, side dishes, sweet dishes and more
Thanksgiving dinner ideas.

SAUSAGE BALLS

1 pound sausage
1 (8-ounces) package cream cheese
2 (8-ounces) packages of crescent roll dough
(seamless dough sheets work best)
Cook sausage and let cool a bit. Stir in cream cheese. (Cooling
the sausage and cream cheese filling will make it easier to wrap
and seal the dough.) Take a rectangular dough sheet or make
one by pressing the edges of two crescent triangles together.
Cut the rectangle into 6 or 8 squares. Place a small amount of
filling into the center of each dough square. Pull the corners up
to enclose the filling and press edges together. Bake according
to instructions on crescent roll package.
Mike McBride, CEO

CRANBERRY SAUCE

8 ounces fresh cranberries

cup water
to 1 cup sugar
Zest and juice of one orange
Put all ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until
berries pop, about 5 minutes. Stir as they cook. Cook another
5 to 10 minutes. Mash and let cool.
Alantha Garrison, energy use specialist

GREAT PUMPKIN DESSERT

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 package (18 ounces) yellow cake mix
cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cups chopped walnuts
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Transfer to
a greased 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inches baking pan. Sprinkle with
dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Top with walnuts. Bake at
350 degrees for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center
comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Holly Palmer, billing assistant
coloradocountrylife.coop

SWEET POTATO PIE

3 to 4 medium peeled sweet potatoes, boiled until tender

stick (4 tablespoons) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cup brown sugar
Marshmallows
Drain boiled sweet potatoes and mash. Add butter, vanilla and
brown sugar and mix well. Pour into casserole dish (8-inch by
8-inch works well) and cover with marshmallows. Bake at 350
degrees until marshmallows are golden, about 5 to 10 minutes.
If you are preparing the dish ahead of time, refrigerate until just
before serving, and dont add the marshmallows. When ready
to cook, cover the dish with foil and pop the sweet potatoes
in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat the potatoes, then
remove from oven, remove foil, spread marshmallows on top
and place back in oven for about 5 to 10 minutes to melt the
marshmallows.
Alantha Garrison, energy use specialist

ULTIMATE MASHED POTATOES

5 pounds potatoes
3 tablespoons butter plus 5 teaspoons butter, divided
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil potatoes, drain and mash with 3
tablespoons butter. Add remaining ingredients, except remaining
butter and mix. Spoon into greased baking dish. Melt remaining
butter and drizzle on top. Bake uncovered 30-35 minutes.
Sherry Booth, executive assistant
NOVEMBER 2014

[GCEA News]

LED Light Rebate

GCEA and Tri-State

Generation and Transmission offer rebates for LED
lightbulbs and fixtures
with LED lighting built-in
for residential and smallcommercial use within
our service area.
GCEA members are
eligible for rebates of 50
percent of the LED cost, capped at $10 per bulb or fixture.
The following restrictions apply: A maximum of 50 bulbs or
fixtures per account each year for installation within GCEAs
service area, and LED bulbs must be 300 lumens or greater to
qualify.
Visit www.gcea.coop and click on Energy Efficiency or call
970-641-3520 for information.

High Heating Costs

Leaving You in the Cold?

The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) is a federally-funded program designed to assist low-income households
with some of their winter home heating costs. This program has
funds that are available for eligible households from November
through April each year. LEAP is intended to pay a portion of
your bill and is not designed to pay the entire cost of your winter
home heating bills.
Members interested in receiving LEAP benefits must fill out
a LEAP application. In addition to the application form, applicants must submit a copy of their most recent heating bill or
rent receipt that shows a specific amount paid every month for
heating costs (if heat is included in the rent), proof of income for
all members of the household who work, a signed affidavit and a
copy of a valid Colorado picture ID.
Our goal is to keep our residents safe and warm. For more
information about LEAP and to see if you qualify for LEAP
benefits, call the Department of Health and Human Services at
970-641-3244.

INCOME MAXIMUMS
Household Size
Max. Monthly Income
1 $1,670
2 $2,246
For each
3 $2,823
additional
4 $3,400
person
add $577
5 $3,976
6 $4,553
7 $5,129
8 $5,706
10

NOVEMBER 2014

New Co-op Employee

GCEA hires Logann Peterson
to fill marketing role

We welcome Logann Peterson to our team

as our marketing and communications assistant. She first joined GCEA as a marketing intern with the cooperative communications program in May and worked her way
up to her current position through hard work and dedication.
Logann graduated from Western State Colorado University in
2013 with a communications degree and worked in the academic
affairs office while in college. She grew up in Mulvane, Kansas,
and enjoys spending time outdoors. Logann looks forward to
her role in expanding and innovating marketing strategies for
GCEA. If you have any comments or suggestions for our publications, please let her know. We are excited to have Logann as
part of our team.

Warming
Wisely
Always remember to turn off space heaters and electric
blankets when not in use. Never leave one of these
devices turned on unattended and turn off space heaters
before going to bed.

Is Your Water Heater Acting Up?

The holidays are right around the corner and house guests
mean extra showers, dishwasher loads and laundry. And it
seems like its always during the holidays when something
decides to break.
So before disaster strikes during the most joyous time
of the year, consider investing in a Rheem Marathon water
heater. The Marathon water heaters tank is a lifetime solution, and because it is warranted not to leak, for as long as
you own your home, it could be the last water heater you
need to buy. With its superior dependability and efficiency, Marathon truly can provide hot water for life.
Purchase your Marathon from GCEA and receive a
rebate of up to $95.
For more information, contact GCEA at 970-641-3520 or
visit www.gcea.coop.

coloradocountrylife.coop