Arkansas River Power Authority Business Operations – MARCH 2020

ARPA Scholarship Program. In 2000 the Arkansas River Power Authority Board of Directors established a College Scholarship Program. The Program is administered through our member municipalities of Holly, La Junta, Lamar, Las Animas, Springfield and Trinidad, Colorado. The scholarship is awarded to one high school senior in each member municipality. The total scholarship award is $1,000 funded equally between ARPA and the member municipality. Over the past five years, ARPA and its members have funded approximately $36,000 towards scholarships for deserving students within their communities. Application forms, scholarship requirements, and eligibility criteria are available either through the counseling offices of the member high schools or at the local office of the electric utility. The ARPA Scholarship Program is an effort to give something back to the community by encouraging the higher education aspirations of our local students. 

National Lineman Appreciation Day is April 18. This is a time to express our utmost appreciation to the great men and women that work so hard for us every day to keep the lights on. It’s our honor to celebrate the hard work, innovation, and dedication of Electrical Lineworkers who go out in the worst of weather to ensure our homes stay warm, our businesses remain open for business, and our medical facilities stand ready to provide their life-saving services. ARPA will be celebrating with our lineworkers from Holly, La Junta, Lamar, Las Animas, Springfield and Trinidad for a job well done!  Help us in the celebration with a #ThankALineman. 

ARPA Operating Committee Discuss Training Opportunities. The Operating Committee scheduled its annual bucket truck rescue training for April 15 in Las Animas with the Las Animas Light and Power staff providing the training. This training is open to any department from our member communities that operate bucket trucks, including City and County parks and street departments. The Committee also scheduled its poletop and bucket truck rescue training to be held on April 16 in La Junta with the training to be provided by La Junta Municipal Utilities’ staff. This training is attended by the lineworkers from the ARPA communities. The training is held annually and is but one of several safety training courses attended by our member’s line crews. ARPA budgets $15,000 annually to help our members fund attendance at safety training opportunities.   

Nominations Are Open for Annual Awards Program. In late 1994 ARPA instituted the ARPA Awards Program.

The awards include the Tom Pryor Award for exceptional contribution to publicly-owned electric power; the Gordon Robertson Award for distinguished service on the ARPA Board of Directors; and the ARPA Honor Roll of Merit for significant contribution to the mission of ARPA or the betterment of an ARPA member community. For information regarding nominations call the ARPA office at (719) 336-3496.

Summary of January 2020 Financial and Operating Statements. During the month of January, revenue from power sales were slightly less than budget and total cost of goods sold were under budget by 2%. Net revenue for the month was $279,957, and Member Energy sales for January were 2% better than budget. 

Next ARPA Board of Directors Meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the ARPA Board is Thursday, March 26 by WebCast and Conference Call. The meeting will begin at 9:00 AM. ARPA board meetings are open to the public. If any member of the public wishes to participate, please call Arvenia at 336-3496 for information on where to attend.