Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic many people had to make a lot of changes to adapt. Families found themselves at home more during the day and at night. Spare bedrooms and kitchen tables became home offices or classrooms for the kids. Many started to connect digitally with each other to maintain some form of social contact. Even as technology has made it so easy to work from home and connect with others digitally, all those things would not be possible without the electric power that comes so seamlessly into our homes.  

This month the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce recognizes Heber Light and Power as our business of the month for their ongoing efforts to keep our community powered up and running smoothly.

Jason Norlen, general manager of Heber Light and Power, has worked for the public utility for over 23 years and now manages some 41 employees. Norlen said their three main priorities are safety, reliable power, and customer service. Throughout the years HL&P have been able to maintain a great track record in all three areas.

What many people might not know about HL&P is that it is a public utility, meaning that it is managed by a board of local officials from Heber City, Midway, Charleston, and Wasatch County. Norlen said there are many benefits to our community for this model.

“Everything is local. All decisions are local, dispatch is local, and our staff is local,” said Norlen. “We can respond much quicker to outages and customer needs. When you call us you talk to a real person.”

Heber Light & Power is currently working on plans to get their power generation needs to 90% renewable energy in the next ten years. This means incorporating additional solar, wind, hydro and other renewable sources to generate the power our community needs. Though moving this direction is still great for our air quality and community, the power company still emphasizes conservation.

“The cheapest kilowatt of power is the one we don’t have to buy,” said Norlen referring to conservation. To that end HL&P has several energy conservation programs to help businesses and residents reduce their power needs. Simple things such as swapping out traditional bulbs for LEDs saves a lot of power. Even setting your home thermostat from 68 to 72 during the summer can make a drastic difference in energy savings. Heber Light and Power has several energy savings plans and ideas to offer their customers. Find out more by calling (435) 654-1581.

When the power goes out it needs to come on fast as possible. According to Norlen, HL&P maintains one of the shortest outage rates by industry standards. To do this HL&P operates a 24-hour dispatch center with crews ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Each time you turn on your lights, open your fridge, or log on to your computer for work there is a large crew working hard to make sure it is reliable, safe, and always ready. The Heber Valley Chamber of commerce is proud to recognize Heber Light and Power as the June Business of the Month.