Colorado Utilities

Learn More About...

• Generation
• Investor Owned Utilities
• Municipal Utilities
• Rural Electric Associations
• Transmission

Colorado is on the eastern end of the Western Interconnection System, which is accountable for reliability purposes to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. The Western Interstate Energy Board is an organization of 12 western states and three western Canadian provinces and provides the instruments and framework for cooperative state efforts to "enhance the economy of the West and contribute to the well-being of the region's people." One of the sectors of this organization is the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation (CREPC), which consists of public utility commissions, energy agencies and facility sitting agencies in the western states and Canadian provinces in the western electricity grid, working to improve the efficiency of the Western Interconnection. The GEO is a member of the CREPC.

Where Does Your Electricity Come From?

Depending on where you live in Colorado, you buy electricity from one of three utility types:

• Investor owned utility, or an "IOU" - Learn More
• Rural electric cooperative or a rural electric association - Learn More
• Municipal utility - Learn More

Colorado's utilities provide a vitally important service to our state, as we continue to move toward the New Energy Economy in meeting emission reduction goals and incorporating increasing amounts of renewable energy into the electric grid. Read about what several Colorado utilities are doing to participate in the New Energy Economy in the Utility Spotlight section.

Wholesale and Independent Power

Several companies generate and sell power at the wholesale level to utilities, but not directly to retail customers. In Colorado, this includes Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, the Arkansas River Power Authority, the Platte River Power Authority, the federal Western Area Power Administration, and non-utility generators, also known as Independent Power Producers or "IPPs").

• Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
  Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is a wholesale electric power supplier owned by the 44 electric cooperatives that it serves. Tri-State generates and transports electricity to its member systems throughout a 250,000 square-mile service territory across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Learn more on their website.
• The Western Area Power Association (WAPA)
  WAPA is one of four federal power marketing agencies that sell power and transmission services to a wide variety of wholesale customers. WAPA serves 15 western states over a 1.3 million-square-mile area, including municipal utilities and REAs in Colorado. WAPA is not under the jurisdiction of state regulators. Learn more on their website.

Independent Power Producers are represented by a trade association, the Colorado Independent Energy Association (CIEA). CIEA is a member of the Electric Power Supply Association, the primary national organization for IPPs and competitive power suppliers in the US. CIEA members strive to lead the way in lowering electricity costs through technological advancement and power plant construction methods. Learn more on their website.

To learn more about electricity in the State of Colorado read "What Makes the Lights Go On?" (PDF 1.5 MB), a report produced by the utility-sponsored Colorado Energy Forum.