www.siea.com San Isabel Electric Association News Service 2/6/2012 9:34:21 AM us=en newslist.aspx?itemID=36 After 36 months of planning the San Isabel Electric Association Board of Directors broke ground for the construction of a new headquarters building. The ceremonial event was held on December 28, 2011 with several officials from Pueblo County attending.

The facility will be located in the 800 block of Industrial Boulevard in Pueblo West. The electric cooperative has also purchased the former Ferguson Enterprises building, located at 813 E. Industrial Blvd. to be renovated as a new Engineering and Operations Center.

According to SIEA General Manager Reg Rudolph the building project is one of necessity. “We have really outgrown our current office space which was built in the early 1970’s. Since that time SIEA has quadrupled the number of employees and meters. So we had to look at a facility that would not only meet the needs of our employees but also our members for many years to come,” said Rudolph.

Rudolph sited the lack of space for work processes and an antiquated HVAC system as being two primary reasons for a new facility as well as the opportunity to take advantage of conditions in the current building market. “While we looked at options of adding on at our current location, ultimately it just made more economic sense to take advantage of the low interest rates and current construction costs to build new,” he said.

The $8 million building project will not push any rate increase for SIEA members. “This isn’t going to drive a rate increase. We’ve planned on this project for the last two or three years and it won’t have an impact on us,” said Rudolph. “It’s a 40-year facility, so it will be financed over the long term through our general rate base.”

While the new building project won’t be a factor in bringing forth a rate increase, rising power costs could. “One of the things that drive rates is an increase in power costs,” said Rudolph. “We’ve actually seen power costs increase about 4.5 percent this year and we were able to hold the line without a rate increase with that associated cost,” said Rudolph.

SIEA’s power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, is owned by 44 member electric cooperatives including San Isabel. According to Rudolph if Tri- State doesn’t raise its rates, SIEA should be able to go another year without a rate increase.

San Isabel partnered with local architectural firm HGF Architects to design both the new administrative building and the remodel for the E & O Center. H W Houston Construction was awarded the building project through a competitive bidding process.

Lead by HGF Principal Architect Bob Hart, the design project offered several options to the electric cooperative. “HGF Architects has had the pleasure of working with the Board of Directors, Management and Staff at San Isabel Electric to develop plans for their building. The new headquarters building houses 22,800 square feet of office space on two levels. The E & O Center is made up of 14,000 square feet of remodeled office space and 23,000 square feet of warehouse,” said Hart.

Ken West of H W Houston Construction will lead the construction phase of the project. “Our team is very excited to begin the process of creating a new home for the headquarters of San Isabel Electric Association. The cutting edge design of HGF Architects will result in a state of the art facility that will serve the Association and its members for the 21st century with energy efficient and environmentally sensitive construction and will be a model for others to follow,” West said.

The new building project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2012. San Isabel Electric will eventually place its current headquarters building located at 893 E. Enterprise Dr. and the SIEA West Peak warehouse located at 716 E. Industrial Blvd. in Pueblo West up for sale.

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