COVID-19 Response: DMEA Implements Outage Restoration Only Operations
March 26, 2020 — In response to the State of Colorado’s recent Stay-at-Home order, Delta-Montrose Electric Association has activated the next stage of its Pandemic Response Plan and is transitioning to “outage restoration only” operations, effective immediately. This heightened response helps ensure DMEA can continue providing safe and reliable power to its membership.
While this move will curb some of the co-op’s operations, such as new construction services, rest assured DMEA is committed to keeping the lights on during these trying times. All in-person interactions have been suspended, but cooperative employees are still available to serve members:
- As always, DMEA linemen are on-call, 24/7/365 in the event of an outage.
- Continue reporting all power outages by phone at 877-687-3632. DMEA’s dispatch center will remain fully staffed due to its critical nature.
- Billing and payment questions should be directed to 877-687-3632 or csrs@dmea.com.
- DMEA offices are closed to the public and all support staff members are now required to telecommute. Per normal operations, they are available to answer questions and provide assistance during regular business hours.
- DMEA’s COVID-19 response efforts and other news updates are posted regularly at dmea.com or on the co-op’s Facebook page.
DMEA crewmembers and contractors will still be in the field performing necessary maintenance and repair work in order to ensure the co-op continues to deliver reliable electricity. DMEA asks that members refrain from approaching employees and contractors in order to help keep these essential employees healthy.
DMEA’s Board of Directors and staff members will continue to closely monitor the progression of COVID-19 and take all reasonable actions to mitigate the impact to our community. At this time, DMEA’s Board of Directors also wishes to share the following message with the membership.
Dear Members,
None of us ever hopes there will be a true need for a Pandemic Response Plan, let alone that we would be in this advanced stage of activating one. These are uncertain times, but as your DMEA Board of Directors, we wanted to tell you a few things that are weighing heavy on our hearts and minds.
Your health and the health of the DMEA employees who serve you: Since we first activated our Pandemic Response Plan early this month, the number one priority has been to keep both you and DMEA employees safe. DMEA provides an essential service—one we all depend on to keep our lights on, our food cold, and our coffee hot. We know that shutting our doors and restricting access to our employees is frustrating. But, it’s necessary in order to ensure that our people, especially those who keep the power flowing, stay healthy.
Keeping essential services on: There’s no doubt: Electricity powers modern life in America. We want you to know DMEA has a solid electric system. We are confident in the equipment, technology, and software that we use everyday to ensure safe and reliable electricity powers our valley. While we may have one of the most reliable grids in the nation, outages will happen. We want you to know that our commitment to safely restoring power has not and will not change throughout this pandemic.
Your family’s financial well-being: We are thankful for the ability to allow our employees to continue to serve you from home. But we recognize not everyone is so lucky. Many of our members are experiencing reduced hours or even layoffs. We don’t want you to have to choose between feeding your family or paying your electric bill, which is why we won’t turn your power off even if you can’t pay your bill. We still have to bill you, but your power will remain on regardless of your ability to pay. We’re also asking that those who can continue to pay their bill do so; that way we can focus on helping those who are most impacted by COVID-19. If you are able, please also considering rounding up your bill each month so our Operation Round Up team can donate more dollars to families in need.
We’re honored that you trust us with your business, and we will do all we can to continue to earn that trust during this time. Together, we’ll see our way through this situation. We appreciate your grace and understanding as we navigate the unknown.
With Gratitude,
DMEA Board of Directors
