United Power adding a gas plant to its generating mix

Electrical cooperative expects to tap new plant less than 15% of the time

by Allen Best

United Power will be gaining access to 162 megawatts of natural gas generating capacity to be constructed near Keenesburg.

United estimates it will use the plant less than 15% of the time and even then not necessarily all six units.

“These are simple-cycle quick-start units,” explained Mark Gabriel, the chief executive of United Power in an e-mail. “They are able to come on within 5 to 10 minutes. Since they are modular, we can start just one or all six as needed.”

United will buy the power from Kindle Energy, the owner, through a power-purchase agreement. United says it expects the plant, called Mountain Peak Power, to be ready to produce electricity by June 2025.

An electrical cooperative, United Power has 112,000 customers spread out from the foothills west of Arvada to the oil-and-gas wells of the Wattenberg Field northeast of Denver. It also has a burgeoning warehouse and industrial sector clustered along Interstate 76.

United on May 1 became independent of its long-time wholesale supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. It had been laying out its plans for independence for a couple of years and has been rapidly implementing elements of what Gabriel calls a hyper-localization strategy.

“Our hyper-localization strategy keeps power supply close and directly hooked to the distribution system, avoiding transmission costs and line losses,” he explained.

“It is just one more tool in our toolbox that will help us better meet the varied needs of our members and provide more predictable costs in the future,” Gabriel said in a press release.

Batteries are another tool for that hyper-localization strategy of maintaining reliability. Several days before United announced the natural gas agreement, United had hosted a “flip-switching” ceremony at one of its eight new battery installations. The batteries will be able to store electricity, including relatively cheap renewables. About 10% of United’s members have rooftop or other solar.

Then, when demands are high and so are costs of electricity from other sources, the batteries can be tapped. They have the capacity to supply up to 13% of total demand. Such times of high demand occur especially on hot summer evenings but also increasingly during winter evenings. Winter storms, such as occurred in 2021 and 2022, can also drive up prices of electricity. One of United’s eight battery installations will be adjacent to the new natural gas plant near Keenesburg.

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