Tri-State, member co-ops to participate in consumer energy saving campaign

Joining nearly 700 other Touchstone Energy Cooperatives from across the
country, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and its member system co-ops are combining forces to launch a revolutionary national energy efficiency campaign designed to inspire consumers to save energy and money.

This week’s debut of the integrated communications and education campaign,
“Together We Save,” features the simultaneous roll-out of television and radio messages, print ads, brochures and related collateral, as well as more than a dozen energy efficiency interactive Web applications linked to a virtual home tour (at www.togetherwesave.com) - all designed to encourage electric co-op member-consumers to take immediate energy saving actions.

“In conjunction with our member cooperatives, we’re continually working to
deliver useful information on how to use energy wisely,” said Tri-State general manager and executive vice president Ken Anderson. “Energy efficiency is an important part of the services that Tri-State and our members provide to our rural consumer-owners and the Touchstone Energy ‘Together We Save’ campaign will help us do that even more effectively.”

The Touchstone Energy Cooperatives brand represents a nationwide alliance
made of nearly 700 local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives in 46 states - including Tri-State (one of the founding members) and 42 of its member system co-ops in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nebraska - that collectively deliver power and energy solutions to more than 40 million consumers.

“Touchstone Energy’s ‘Together We Save’ campaign illustrates numerous ways
our member-consumers can reduce their energy bills - and thereby save themselves
money - by implementing a variety of changes around their homes and businesses,” said Jim Bausell, chief operating officer of Touchstone Energy. “Whether it’s switching to compact fluorescent lighting, unplugging unused appliances or adding an extra layer of insulation in the attic, the real thrust behind what we’re trying to accomplish is to show how simple some of these energy-saving techniques are, so that the end-use consumer goes from just thinking about changing some of their habits to actually taking action,” Bausell said.

“Since it was first established in 1998, the Touchstone Energy brand has helped
position electric co-ops as unique power providers among the nation’s utilities,”
Anderson said. “It has continued to evolve over the past decade by developing and
offering value-added programs and services such as this one, further strengthening the
relationship between the co-ops and our member-consumers. We will be actively
promoting and delivering this helpful information throughout our membership” he said.

Anderson also pointed out that Tri-State has long had in place a number of energy
efficiency initiatives designed to encourage and reward energy-efficient purchases and
practices. In 2008, for example, Tri-State’s Energy Efficiency Credits program, which has been greatly enhanced since it was created in 1985, returned nearly $2 million to residents and business for their smart energy choices.

The campaign officially debuts on August 27 when the togetherwesave.com Web
site goes lives, in conjunction with a launch event in St. Louis, Mo., being attended by
representatives from electric cooperatives from across the country. Television, radio and print advertising will begin airing nationally and regionally immediately following that event.

View television commercials and listen to radio commercials from the "Together We Save" campaign

Updated: August 31, 2009