DMEA Welcomes Experienced Utility Industry Executive as CEO
Alyssa Clemsen Roberts will lead the member-owned electric cooperative and its broadband subsidiary, Elevate
MONTROSE, Colo. (July 13, 2021) – Delta-Montrose Electric Association is pleased to announce that it has hired Alyssa Clemsen Roberts as CEO. She will take the helm of the member-owned cooperative and its broadband subsidiary, Elevate, on August 23, 2021.
Roberts comes to DMEA after serving on the leadership teams at Ozarks Electric Cooperative in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Pedernales Electric Cooperative in Johnson City, Texas, and, most recently, as Chief Strategy Officer at Platte River Power Authority in Fort Collins, Colorado. Her responsibilities at Platte River included overseeing public power strategy, operations at the Rawhide Energy Station, government relations, communications, energy solutions, and safety and human resources.
“Alyssa’s experience at cooperatives around the country and at an important public power utility here in Colorado has given her great insight into and knowledge of cooperatives, power markets, and broadband,” said Kyle Martinez, President of DMEA’s Board of Directors. “We are excited to have her join us as DMEA and Elevate continue to adapt, innovate, and fulfill our purpose to power and unite our communities.”
“I am honored for this opportunity to lead DMEA and Elevate at a pivotal moment for both the electric and broadband industries.” Roberts said. “I look forward to working with DMEA and Elevate employees and building on the great work they are doing to deliver forward-thinking, innovative service to members and customers.”
After serving four years in the U.S. Navy as a sonar technician and instructor, Roberts joined the United States Department of Agriculture in its Rural Utilities Service, working to support broadband expansion in rural America. As a partner at Aspire Strategies, she organized the first electric cooperative rural broadband group before joining the Utilities Technology Council (UTC) to focus on rural infrastructure issues. While at UTC, she successfully lobbied for the creation of a $100 million federal funding program, Rural Broadband Experiments, to help rural utilities provide broadband services.
Roberts takes the helm at DMEA at an exciting time in the cooperative’s history. In May, the organization reported its strongest financial results in six years; DMEA’s 2020 adjusted net operating margins exceeded $4.3 million, more than double its results in 2019 and its best performance since 2014. Those numbers reflect a significant decrease in operating expenses primarily due to reduced wholesale power supply costs from Guzman Energy. Earlier this year DMEA also announced its plans to purchase a significant portion of the output from an 80MW solar energy project in Delta County.