A VISION
FOR DMEA
It’s been an honor to represent you on the DMEA board, and I humbly ask for your vote to serve a second term. Here is some additional background information on my candidacy for your consideration.
Kevin Williams
I grew up in a small dairy farming community in upstate New York, which instilled in me a deep connection to people who work the land and a strong work ethic. My spouse Brenda and I have lived in Montrose for 40 years. Our daughter was born and raised here and graduated from Montrose High School in 2005. We love western Colorado and in our spare time enjoy gardening, hiking, reading, good music and swing dancing.
I received a post graduate degree from the University of Idaho in Forest Resources. I have been employed in the nonprofit sector most of my career working with people in rural communities throughout the Intermountain West and Great Plains to give them a voice in decisions that affect their lives.
As a long-time resident of Montrose I’ve been involved in community led efforts to safeguard our Western Slope water, ensure that development pays its own way, and improve our public education system, just to name a few.
Someone asked me when I first joined the board if it was like drinking from a fire hose and I replied "no, it was like drinking from the Gunnison Tunnel!"
I believe I have grown to be an effective board member and will always do my best to keep your interests and the interests of our local communities in Delta and Montrose County at heart. I strive to do my homework, ask plenty of questions, and examine all sides of an issue. One question I always ask myself is “how will my decisions as a board member impact the people who live in our service area, and especially those struggling to make ends meet?”
DMEA has faced many challenges in the last few years. We switched our wholesale power provider, started a high speed fiber internet subsidiary, and weathered a malicious cyber-attack and unacceptably high CEO turnover. I believe we have emerged stronger and more resilient than ever.
Here are ten reasons why DMEA members should be proud of their electric cooperative.
1. DMEA is financially strong and stable and in the last two years the Board has been able to return nearly $6.7 million in prior years’ margins to our members as capital credits.
2. Inflation has eaten away at our pocketbooks and it seems like everything costs more. When the Board decided to switch wholesale power providers it reduced our wholesale power costs by about 20 percent, which has allowed us to keep our electric rates stable for the last five years. No other electric coop in Colorado can say that. In fact, you will find that DMEA’s rates are significantly lower than our neighboring electric coops
3. Roughly 35-38% of DMEA’s energy portfolio is renewable resources. Our contract with Guzman Energy gives us more flexibility to self-generate our own power from renewables, supporting local jobs and the economy. The addition of the Garnet Mesa Solar Project in Delta County will push our renewable resource mix into the mid-forties.
4. I am passionate about honesty, transparency and member engagement and DMEA is one of the few, if not the only, electric coops in Colorado to make our monthly Board meeting packets and financial reports available online for our members through SmartHub.
5. Extreme weather events are increasingly common, and DMEA’s Board and staff is committed to implementing an aggressive vegetation management program as well as doing our part to meet Colorado’s carbon reduction goals. We also have a rock solid commitment to the safety of our employees, members and contractors.
6. DMEA believes in supporting local nonprofits that contribute to the quality of life in our communities. In the last two years the Board has provided financial support to Peer Kindness, Maslow Academy, Montrose Veterans Plaza, the Western Slope Conservation Center, and the Hispanic Affairs Project. Each year, DMEA also offers more than $50,000 in college scholarships to local graduating seniors and continuing education students.
7. The Board and staff is committed to improving our member/customer service and communication with an emphasis on friendly and helpful customer service representatives and responsive and competent technical support.
8. Our high speed internet network (Elevate) is financially stable and built for the future. DMEA has secured nearly $61 million in state and federal grant funds to bring fiber internet to our local communities. By the end of this year we expect to reach 82% of our members and the Board has set a goal of reaching every member by 2027.
9. Because we are committed to delivering fast, reliable Internet you can count on, in the fall of 2023 we increased the base internet speed for our Elevate customers from 150 megabits per second (Mbps) to 400 Mbps. And better yet, we kept the price the same and scrapped our requirement that customers sign a one year contract. Customers can now try our broadband Internet service risk free.
10. And finally, DMEA helps support a strong local economy by providing stable, affordable electric rates as well as bringing high speed internet to our members in Montrose and Delta Counties.
However, it would be a mistake to rest on our laurels. The electric industry is in the midst of a major transformation. There is an ongoing shift in the fundamental economics of energy toward cheaper renewables, and state and federal tax credits, grants and loans have hastened that transformation.
According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, we are in the middle of an energy technology cost revolution and the cost of new energy technologies has fallen by 60-90% in ten years.
There is a pressing need for additional electric transmission infrastructure in Colorado and nearly all regions of the country to improve reliability and resilience, address high energy costs, and reduce congestion and constraints.
Nearly 2,000 of our members have installed rooftop solar systems, electric vehicle and heat pump sales are growing, and battery storage technology is advancing by leaps and bounds.
It’s important that we invest in energy efficiency because it is the largest, cheapest, safest and cleanest way to keep our members’ electric bills stable and lower carbon emissions.
I envision the electric industry continuing to evolve toward a hybrid of distributed and centralized renewable resources, integrated by advanced communication and controls that securely choreograph supply and demand-side resources nearly in real time.
On the broadband front we have more work yet to do to ensure every single coop member has access to high speed internet by 2027.
The next ten years will be a decade of major change, and at DMEA we need to continue to adapt and be forward thinking, all while providing reliable and affordable rates. The Board’s leadership is critical in this regard.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the employees of DMEA. None of the accomplishments I have just described would be possible without the dedication, hard work and professionalism of every single one of our employees.
My door is always open and I am eager to hear from you. You own DMEA and your voice matters. I'd be honored to earn your vote in the upcoming election.