Platte River Power Authority Welcomes New Board Member

Darrell Hahn, electric utilities director for Longmont Power & Communications, was appointed to Platte River Power Authority’s Board of Directors by Longmont City Council on Oct. 22. He is the third new member to join the wholesale power provider’s board this year.

Platte River Power Authority (Platte River) is a not-for-profit, community-owned public power generation and transmission utility that provides safe, reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy and services to Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland, Colorado, for delivery to their distribution utility customers

“Darrell joins our board during a transformative time for Platte River and our owner communities,” says Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO for Platte River. “His leadership experience and utilities expertise in Longmont will be invaluable as we continue to navigate this energy transition. We are excited to welcome him.”

Platte River is the wholesale generation and transmission utility for Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland. Each of these municipalities own the public power utility and have two representatives on the utility’s board of directors. The mayor of each municipality serves on the board unless they delegate this authority to another elected official on their city council or town board. The second representative is appointed by the city council or town board, which is typically the utility director for that municipality. This structure balances community representation with technical expertise.

Since 2018, on behalf of the owner communities, Platte River has been working toward the Resource Diversification Policy, a community-driven, board-adopted policy directing the CEO to proactively work toward a 100% noncarbon energy mix by 2030 without sacrificing the utility’s foundational pillars to provide reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy and services.

“I look forward to serving on Platte River’s board and representing the City of Longmont during this ambitious energy transition,” says Hahn. “So much has already been done, and there is still a significant challenge ahead of us as we work together to balance cost, maintain reliability and enhance sustainability with a noncarbon energy future that supports all of our communities.”

Hahn replaces Dave Hornbacher who served on Platte River’s board since August 2019. Hornbacher will step down and continue supporting Longmont in his role as Longmont’s assistant city manager. Hahn’s first Platte River board meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 12.

“I appreciate how dedicated and supportive Dave has been during his tenure on our board,” adds Frisbie. “His detailed and engaged style and consistent support for Platte River are commendable, and I wish him the best as he moves forward.”

In addition to providing a public health and safety service to the owner communities, Platte River is working toward a 100% noncarbon energy future through a Resource Diversification Policy approved by its board of directors in 2018. For more information, visit prpa.org.