COLUSA, CA (November 6, 2023) — Colusa Indian Energy is a Tribal corporation owned wholly by the Colusa Indian Community (CICC) in northern California. The CICC owns and operates their own Co- Gen micro-grid, which was constructed in 2005. Since then, they have completely rolled the incumbent utility off of the reservation and now power not only the Colusa Casino Resort, but also all of the Tribal members’ homes, the government’s administration campus, water treatment plants, thousands of acres of agricultural loads, and various Tribal businesses. The Tribe has sustained zero unplanned power interruptions since 2012.
In 2021, CICC formed the Colusa Indian Community Tribal Utility Authority and became the sole Tribal member of the California Municipal Utilities Association. Colusa Indian Energy was born from this milestone, as the Colusa leadership began offering energy infrastructure assistance to other Tribes. “Our mission since then has remained the same; to energize Indian Country wherever there is a need, assist Tribes in extending their sovereignty to their own energy portfolios, and to build an alliance of Tribes to share resources in the energy space, including technical expertise, training, and funding opportunities” said Chairman of Colusa Indian Community Council, Wayne Mitchum Jr.
Colusa Indian Energy has built strategic partnerships with gas and diesel engine manufacturers, green and blue hydrogen producers, natural gas developers, solar developers, emission control system manufacturers, chiller manufacturers, and battery storage suppliers. These partnerships allow Colusa Indian Energy to access top level factory trainings around the globe that are not available to typical end users, which we then pass on to our Tribal partners, so that we can help them develop their own qualified workforces. The ultimate goal for Colusa Indian Energy is to not be needed by anyone and for all Tribes who want to form their own Tribal Utility Authorities to have the power and expertise to operate them on their own.
“Colusa Indian Energy is continuing to discover the needs of Indian Country and adjust the services we offer to assist in helping other Tribes reach Energy Sovereignty” said Colusa Indian Energy Director Ken Ahmann. Currently, services offered include:
- Federal and state grant funding opportunity identification, technical assistance, and administration
- Turnkey micro-grid projects, including engineering, construction, operation, and maintenance
- Gas and hydrogen Co-Gen power plants, solar PV installations, battery UPS and battery energy storage systems, absorption chillers, controls integration, low to medium voltage applications, etc.
- Tribal Utility Authority