Annual Meeting at the Electric Co-op

Every year our local electric cooperative has an annual meeting and dinner for it's members. This is the first year I was able to attend. It was a great experience.

They had their lift bucket trucks on display and were giving rides to those with a desire. That looked to be quite the experience - wished I had gone up.

They had a most interesting display of various types of underground cable. Part of this display included a machine that sends a signal along underground cable to detect where the cable has failed. A read out is provided giving the distance along the cable where it failed . Then a signal can be sent which causes a firecracker like noise to take place at the fault. This allows crews to dig within two feet of the fault and make repairs.

Many electric cars were on display. I learned that even though lots of new meters are being installed every year overall demand for electricity is declining. This is not surprising given the increased energy efficiency of appliances and lighting. The only thing on the horizon expected to increase demand is the wide spread use of electric cars.

Not surprisingly electrical companies are promoting electric cars. Quite a few were on display at this annual meeting along with the owners who were telling about their driving experiences.

Enjoyed discussions about solar energy and net metering and the efforts the company is putting forward to increase use of renewable energy.

I found out that about 45% of our power comes from coal fired generating plants, 33% from renewable energy sources (Hydro, Wind, Solar), 12% from purchase on the open market at great prices and the remainder from Oil or gas fired generation. The coal fired plants are owned by our supplier of electricity (NRE) while the renewable energy is from private companies under contract. The latter is due to non profit electric companies not being able to take Federal tax credits for renewable energy while private companies can.

The dinner was well done with many choices of BBQ and all the fixin's. Turns out the folks I shared a table with are narrow gauge railroad buffs which made for interesting dinner conversation.

Took the opportunity to top up the charge on the car

Lift truck on display

All ready to give rides

Loading the passenger

Wheeee!

A few of the many electric cars on display

Drink mugs in the form of large light bulbs were given to each member

The various types of underground cable were on display. I learned what is the replacement cable for what was installed up here in the early 70's.

This fascinating machine tells the repair crews where there is a fault with an underground cable and where to dig

A "BOT" was on hand to greet the children

Pretty good turn out for the dinner

Trying out a Nissan Leaf

Our electric company here in the mountains is very progressive and offers pure electric cars for the members of the co-op to try out and realize the electric car driving experience.

We stopped in today to see if we might try out one of their vehicles and were offered the keys to a Nissan Leaf. This was quite the pleasant experience.

We met Sherry who introduced herself and showed the features of the car including the novel gear shift and how to plug in to charge the car. This is a pure electric vehicle with no gasoline engine backup. It has a range of 75 miles in very cold weather to over 100 miles in more temperate temperatures. The range is also helped when the battery charges when going downhill, a feature especially useful here in the mountains.

We drove to downtown Gunnison and plugged into the charger and went and had a nice lunch and came back to find we had added 24 miles of range. We traveled all over town shopping and found Nissan did an especially nice job of placing the batteries to allow good storage space inside the car.

The torque of the electric motor makes for snappy acceleration and also contributes to the car being very quiet when running around town. There is a slight beeping noise the car makes when backing up to alert pedestrians due to it being so quiet. The AC system worked especially well.

A tip of the hat to Gunnison County Electric Association for their innovative approach to getting the electric and hybrid electric car experience out to their members!

Busy times at the electric car charger

Great license plate on their Ford Fusion Energi

You can learn more about the various electric vehicle chargers in the Gunnison, CO area at this link:
http://www.gcea.coop/content/electric-vehicle-charging-stations

To learn more about electric vehicle education and test drives check out this link:
http://www.gcea.coop/content/environmental-benefit-projects-and-programs

Used Nissan Leafs can be quite economical to purchase. This link to a buyers guide lists the various models, features and options of various model years:
https://insideevs.com/used-nissan-leaf-buying-guide/

Charging a Plug in Hybrid car

We purchased a plug in hybrid car. Substantial discounts from the manufacturer combined with Federal and State tax incentives made this a 'no brainer'.

The car travels about 21 miles on pure electricity and then another 600 or so using gasoline at 43 mpg or so. At least that is what the EPA says - we are getting much higher than that, partially due to the fact the car creates  electricity when it decelerates and then uses that to run the electric motor thereby reducing gasoline usage. Our fuel average is about 62 MPG running around town.

When it comes time to charge the car you can choose the charger that comes with the car. This plugs into a standard wall outlet and charges the car in about 6 hours - we charge overnight. This is a Level 1 charger and operates off 110 volts.

You can also charge using 240 volts and these are Level 2 chargers. They are much faster and will charge the car in a little over two hours. Level 2 chargers are found all over the place and are available to the public, often at no charge.

Electric utility companies most often have free chargers for obvious reasons.

You can obtain an APP called "Plug Share' that lists the location of the Level 2 chargers. It allows you to read about what is nearby and see images of the charger and location. Also tells you if they are available or in use.

We use this to find places to park the car and grab some juice while we are running our errands or grabbing a bite to eat.

Charging at the Utility Company

Available wall plug at a hotel

At the hospital while eating in their cafeteria

On a downtown street corner

Next to a Tesla at the swimming pool

In a parking lot next to a River Walk

By a park