The Platte River Power Authority’s April 30 board meeting marked the retirement of Reuben Bergsten from the utility’s board of directors. Bergsten serves as the utilities director for the town of Estes Park and joined the board in 2012, serving as vice chair in 2016 and 2017.
“Bergsten brought more than three decades of utility industry experience to our board and was a consistent advocate for reliability, thoughtful planning and collaboration with the owner communities throughout his tenure,” says Jason Frisbie, general manager and CEO for Platte River.
Bergsten will be succeeded by Travis Machalek, town administrator for Estes Park.
At the meeting, the board also accepted Platte River’s 2025 annual report, which highlights a year of continued progress grounded in partnership and collaboration with the utility’s four owner communities as it advances the energy transition.
Guided by the theme “moving forward together,” the report reflects a shared commitment to delivering reliable, affordable energy while navigating a changing energy landscape. It emphasizes operational excellence and collaboration as essential to long-term success.
“Moving forward together means working side by side with our owner communities to ensure we are making smart, balanced decisions,” said Frisbie. “In 2025, we continued building the foundation for a more flexible and resilient system while maintaining the reliability our communities expect. Our progress is the result of strong partnerships, shared goals and the dedication of our employees and board.”
Major milestones from the 2025 Annual Report include:
- Black Hollow Sun Phase 1 entered commercial operation, delivering 350,000 megawatt‑hours of solar energy annually to northern Colorado.
- Finalizing an agreement for Weld Energy Storage, the utility’s first utility-scale battery project, providing 100 megawatts of four-hour storage.
- Energizing the Severance Substation to enable interconnection for new renewable resources.
- Securing a 1041 permit from Larimer County for highly efficient aeroderivative turbines.
- Completing the Rawhide Unit 1 major outage safely and efficiently, supporting long-term reliability.
- Continuing collaboration with owner communities, including extending the organic contract and power supply agreements through 2075.
Together, these accomplishments reflect a balanced approach to the transition, one that prioritizes reliability today while collaboration to prepare the system for the future.
“On behalf of Platte River’s Board of Directors, we are proud of the progress made in 2025,” said Gary Hall, Platte River Board Chair and mayor of Estes Park. “This report underscores the importance of partnership with our owner communities as we continue moving forward together through the energy transition.”
The 2025 Annual Report is available on Platte River’s website at prpa.org/financial-information.
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Platte River Power Authority
Platte River Power Authority 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. 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.