Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Selects Honeywell Integrated Security through NRTC
DATE: August 26, 2009
Contact: Andrea Cumpston
703-787-7156
August 26, 2009 [Herndon, VA]—The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC)
announced today that Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has entered into an
agreement to purchase a Honeywell Integrated Security access control and camera system to modernize
security at Craig Station, one of its flagship baseload generating stations.
NRTC began delivering turnkey security solutions to its members through an agreement with
Honeywell Integrated Security in 2008 in response to growing concerns within the electric
cooperative and telco industries over cyber and physical security. According to NRTC President and
Chief Executive Officer Bob Phillips, “Security is a key component of ongoing facility maintenance
and risk management strategies. Physical security is necessary to protect critical assets of an
electrical distribution network—and will be even more vital as the smart grid becomes a reality."
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is a wholesale electric power supplier
owned by the 44 electric cooperatives that it serves across a 250,000 square-mile service territory
that includes portions of Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Security is a necessary
investment to protect Tri-State’s ability to deliver affordable, reliable power.
Phillips continued, “It’s NRTC’s mission to deliver solutions that enable our members to operate more efficiently. Providing a solution that takes the worry away from delivering power by protecting employees and facilities is part of that mission. To provide a best-in-class security solution, NRTC sought an alliance with Honeywell.”
Critical Infrastructure Protection mandates from the Federal government and the continuing
threat of copper theft have made facilities security a priority for many electric cooperatives.
NRTC established its alliance with Honeywell in order to provide its members with access to the
company’s nationwide network of installers to deliver best-in-class security solutions.
About NRTC
The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) represents the advanced
telecommunications and information technology interests of over 1,400 rural utilities and
affiliates in 48 states. Founded in 1986, NRTC provides products and services developed
specifically to meet the needs of rural utilities and their customers, such as high-speed Internet
access via satellite, full-service Internet access and support, advanced metering infrastructure,
SmartSCADA, wireless technologies, power quality products, long distance programs, mobile phone
service, IP backbone services, direct broadcast satellite service (DBS) with DIRECTV and
programming for Internet protocol television (IPTV). For more information about NRTC, visit
www.nrtc.coop.
About Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is a wholesale electric power supplier
owned by the 44 electric cooperatives and public power districts that it serves. The association
generates and transports electricity to its member systems at 359 delivery points throughout a
250,000-square-mile service territory across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Together,
the co-ops provide electricity and innovative energy solutions to nearly 593,000 member-consumer
meters—a population of approximately 1.4 million people. Based in the Denver-metro area, Tri-State
is Colorado’s second largest electric utility. Its 3,649-megawatt generation portfolio consists of
a combination of owned baseload and peaking power plants that use coal and natural gas as their
primary fuels, along with contracted supplies of power featuring a significant renewable
hydroelectric allocation that is supported by other emerging renewable resource technologies. To
learn more about Tri-State, visit http://www.tristategt.org/.
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