The Yampa Valley Electric Association board of directors hopes a new electronic voting option approved in November will boost the number of customer-members who cast ballots in the annual election this spring.

“On average, we have seen a little more than 10% of our membership vote in these elections,” according to YVEA election materials. “We see great importance for all members to have a say in who their elected officials are, and we hope this will increase voter turnout.”

Packets for potential candidates interested in running for one of the three board seats up for re-election this spring will be available online and in person at YVEA offices starting Thursday morning.

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The three director seats up for election include Scott McGill in District 8 representing south of Steamboat Springs, Ken Rogers in District 9 in Oak Creek and further south in Routt County, and Glynda Sheehan in District 1 that covers a horizontal band across northern Routt and Moffat counties as well as Savery and Baggs in Wyoming.

Rogers, McGill and Sheehan all said this week they plan to run for re-election. Any member in good standing who qualifies under the YVEA bylaws is eligible to submit a candidate petition. The packet must be signed by at least 15 qualified YVEA members and returned by March 26. More information is available online at YVEA.com/about-us/annual-meeting.

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McGill, founder of McGill Professional Law Corp. in Steamboat, has served on the YVEA board since summer 2006. He is running for his seventh term on the board.

“I’ve had a good run, laughed a lot, met many intelligent people, dealt with challenging problems and accomplished much for the good of the company and the members,” McGill said in an email. “I would like to help guide the association into its new era with Guzman as its primary power supplier.”

YVEA officials plan to switch from Xcel Energy to Denver-based Guzman Energy as the wholesale power provider starting June 1, 2028. The YVEA board also is searching for a new general manager. On Jan. 12, the board and General Manager Steve Johnson entered a “mutual agreement of nonrenewal of executive contract.” Johnson has served in the role since March 2018.

YVEA Public Relations Specialist Carly Davidson said the co-op board has hired an outside agency to assist in the search for a new manager, with the search currently in early stages. The board has scheduled a special meeting for 9 a.m. Wednesday regarding the leadership transition plan.

Rogers, who works as district manager for South Routt Health Service District, has served on the YVEA board for six years. Rogers said he is running again to help continue improvements for co-op members, such as “working to integrate renewables not just today but as we move ahead.”

“The power outages from equipment failures have been significantly reduced,” Rogers said. “Our new power purchase agreement with Guzman Energy will stabilize rates so our members will no longer be subject to the drastic surcharges from Xcel.”

Sheehan, who operates an accounting and income tax service in Baggs, originally was appointed to the board in 2012 to fill a vacant seat.

With the new option to vote electronically, all YVEA members with a registered email on file with the co-op will receive an email from noreply@directvote.net about this year’s voting process. Since a member is only allowed to vote once, if a member votes both via paper and electronic ballot, the ballots will be invalid and not counted.

The YVEA in-person 2024 Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 25 at the Craig YVEA office. The Annual Meeting for members includes reports covering the previous fiscal year and an opportunity for members to ask questions of YVEA leadership. Davidson said YVEA serves approximately 23,000 members and 28,430 electric meters.