Terry Stokka has lived in Black Forest for 29 years. He is president of the Friends of Black Forest, chairman of the Black Forest Land Use Committee and chairman of the Black Forest Water & Wells Committee.
Disclaimer: This column does not necessarily represent the views of The New Falcon Herald.
A closer look at MVEA
By Terry Stokka
This month, I would like to give a shoutout to Mountain View Electric Association, our rural electric provider. Electricity is one of those things that we seldom ponder except when the lights go out. We just assume the lights will come on when we flip the switch and the microwave will heat our leftover coffee and donut. MVEA is our wonderful friend and provider to keep those lights on.
The history of MVEA goes back to Dec. 6, 1940, when about 150 people gathered at the Black Forest Community Club to make a final decision to form an electric cooperative. The Rural Electrification Act in 1936 made money available in low interest loans to help build the infrastructure for an electric system in rural areas. Municipal power companies were usually prohibited from providing electricity outside their city limits. Volunteers went from house to house to persuade people to join the cooperative. The cost to join the cooperative and bring electricity to your farmhouse was $5 (about $90 in today’s currency). Remember, these were poor farmers who had little extra money to spare. Often it was the wife’s egg money that paid to join MVEA. The farmer might work from “dawn to dusk,” but his wife was up before dawn and worked until well after dark.
When they came to an area to put up poles and wire, they welcomed volunteer help so the farmers pitched in and had a stake in bringing power to their farms. With farms spread out all over the prairie, just think how much work it took to put up poles and wire to just one farm and imagine how it felt when they could flip a switch and have lights instead of dim, smoky kerosene lamps. The farmer could work in the barn after dark without the danger of fire from a kerosene lantern.
The service territory for MVEA extends from Monument on the western boundary to Limon on the eastern edge, encompassing communities south of Karval and north of Agate. This area spans portions of eight Colorado counties: Arapahoe, Crowley, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Lincoln, Pueblo and Washington, covering a diverse mix of rural towns and agricultural regions. Today, the service area is 5,000 square miles with 57,119 members and 6,520 miles of energized line. That is a lot of power lines! MVEA does not generate power themselves but buys power from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
MVEA is rated in the top 25% of electric cooperatives for reliability. In 2024, MVEA had just 38 minutes of power interruption per year compared to 88 minutes for Colorado and 118 minutes for the entire country. Compared to the eastern half of the U.S. saddled with tornadoes, ice storms and hurricanes, we have it pretty soft. Each year, the cooperative sets aside an amount from our electric bills to cover costly, catastrophic storms. If that money, called Capital Credits, is not used, it is refunded to members. In 2024, $1.5 million was refunded to 27,000 members. I always enjoy getting that refund check each year.
Operation Round Up permits members to round up their electric bill to the next whole dollar to support charitable organizations and people in need. In 2024, $154,000 was awarded to families in this way. They also issued $400,000 in rebates to members who purchased energy saving appliances and tools.
Another massive project they have initiated is to provide fiber optic cable service to the entire service area. This is equivalent to laying new power lines all over again. Members far out on the prairie will have high-speed internet connectivity for school, work and personal communications.
We are fortunate to have such a well-run, efficient electric cooperative. I am thankful for all the work the board and employees of MVEA contribute to bring us that reliable electric power.
