The electrification of transportation represents both a tremendous opportunity and challenge for HCE to boost electricity sales, modernize our distribution grid, and manage an increasingly clean but intermittent power supply. It also represents an added responsibility as our members increasingly choose electric mobility for their own reasons and deepen their reliance on HCE for their mobility needs.

View Full PDF: Transportation Electrification Plan (2024) >

To work toward reaching our 100×30 Goal of 100% clean energy on an annual basis, we will continue to selectively add new flexible renewable resources that help fill in the final gaps during non-solar hours and winter months of high load, while continuing to first prioritize system reliability and overall costs to members.

View Full PDF: Power Supply Road Map (2023) >

View PDF: Wildfire Mitigation Plan (2023) >

In September 2021 Holy Cross Energy launched a process to learn more about ways the organization could support the unmet needs of area residents who need and/or want a different level of engagement with HCE, including asking HCE to provide financial assistance with their energy bills, or learning more about how to reduce their energy use and their impacts on the environment, or who want to request information, services and support in Spanish.

After reflecting on those needs and ways to address them, HCE partnered with L’Ancla and together they asked HCE stakeholders to share their needs and their future vision of HCE as a nonprofit cooperative committed to improving the lives and well-being of all its members.

PDF > L’Ancla Report: Executive Summary

PDF > El Informe de L’Ancla: Resumen Ejecutivo

HCE Electrification Study (PDF)

The following report was produced by RMI at HCE’s request. HCE will be using the study to further inform the development of our beneficial electrification programs.

2021 EV Update (PDF)

The risk of major power disruptions from fires and other natural and manmade hazards seems to be increasing and has become the subject of national and international news. At the same time, entire communities are more reliant on energy-dependent services. As a result, reliable power, and more specifically, planned grid resilience is a growing concern for electric utilities across the nation.

View or download the report 

This report examines the outcomes of a multi-month Rocky Mountain Institute-supported process to “create” resilience involving utility Holy Cross Energy and various other organizations in Colorado’s Upper Roaring Fork Valley. It highlights key lessons that will be invaluable to energy resilience planning and implementation efforts around the world.

Among these lessons is that when community stakeholders work closely together with the local utility, there is the potential for more efficient solutions with greater benefit to all parties involved. Additionally, resilience-related investments in emerging technologies such as solar and battery storage can simultaneously take advantage of cost declines while advancing regional clean energy ambitions.

Holy Cross Energy’s intensive stakeholder engagement and iterative planning process proved imperative to ensuring grid resilience for their community. In addition, the Upper Roaring Fork Valley experience resulted in conclusions relevant to grid resilience efforts everywhere:

• Distributed clean energy solutions should be considered as part of any resilience planning process
• Effective planning for power supply resilience through distributed solutions requires a partnership between the utility and its community
• Business model and ownership structure innovations may be necessary to ensure that resilience-related investments can provide year- round (“blue sky”) benefits during normal operations as well as backup (“black sky”) benefits in the event of an emergency or grid outage

Birds—most of them federally protected—perch, hunt, nest, and fly in the vicinity of overhead electrical infrastructure. These activities have the potential to lead to avian electrocutions and collisions, which may negatively impact safety and reliability. Avian management can reduce harmful avian power line interactions for the benefit of avian conservation, system operators, and power users.

Holy Cross Energy works proactively to protect avian species on our electrical system. In 2003, we first developed an Avian Protection Plan to minimize potential electrocution and collision hazards for birds on its existing power grid and improve compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and Endangered Species Act.

As part of our ongoing commitment to protect bird species, this 2019 Avian Protection Plan provides a primary resource for activities relating to avian protection. The document is relevant to management, engineers, and field personnel, and reflects contemporary best industry practice and the current status of federal and state regulatory and permitting systems.

View PDF >

Sunario Case Study  –
Net Demand Simulation

Overstory Case Study  –
Holy Cross Mitigates Community Wildfire Risk and Increases Reliability with Satellite Vegetation Intelligence

EPRI Technical Brief – August 2022

This technical brief from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) features our Power+ and Green Up programs as “Successful Demand Management Programs” (see Appendix A) that help “cut both capital and operating and maintenance (O&M) costs” and “develop new markets for electricity without encouraging excessive or wasteful energy uses”.

Our work with Eagle River Water and Sanitation is featured prominently on page 12, which is freely available to EPRI’s utility and state regulatory members as an example of best practice in the industry.  Just another way we are “leading the responsible transition” to a clean energy future.