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In-person · Telluride, COElectrical safety training in Telluride, CO
Telluride is a box canyon town at about 8,750 feet where alternating current first proved itself over distance in 1891, and today a free public gondola links it to Mountain Village above. We train the electrical crews who keep San Miguel County's lifts, lodges and remote utility lines working, at your facility or in an in-person class we set up in Telluride when you ask.
Private employers in Colorado are inspected by federal OSHA. Every class is live, on the 2027 edition of NFPA 70E, and taught by a Certified Safety Professional. Colorado electrical safety training requirements →
Among the teams we have trained in the last year
Four ways to train your Telluride crew
Crews we train in and around Telluride: ski resort operations, public transit, hotels and lodging, electric co-op, health care, public employers.
What the class covers for Telluride crews
A gondola running roughly 3 million trips a year has drive and return terminals with large motors, controls and backup power. We cover isolation and verification on lift equipment and the hazards of troubleshooting control circuits while a system stays energized.
Work at 9,000 to 13,000 feet slows people down and stretches emergency response. We cover job planning, rescue readiness and why fatigue belongs in the risk assessment.
Valley power includes century-old hydro plants beside modern hotel switchgear. We cover how equipment age and maintenance history change the likelihood side of an arc flash risk assessment.
Lodges and condo towers in Mountain Village run kitchens, elevators, snowmelt and pool equipment. We build examples around the panels and motor loads that hotel engineers open most.
Telluride at a glance
Federal OSHA (Englewood Area Office)
San Miguel Power Association; Xcel Energy (Ames hydro)
Statewide (Colorado State Electrical Board, DORA)
TEX, MTJ
Mountain
Colorado: what applies to your crews
Enforcement: federal OSHA
San Miguel County is covered by federal OSHA's Englewood Area Office. Colorado has no state plan, so the Towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, including the crews who run the gondola for Mountain Village, and San Miguel County are not covered by OSHA.
Licensing: statewide
DORA's State Electrical Board licenses journeymen, masters and residential wiremen across Colorado and registers contractors, so out-of-area electricians who come to Telluride for a project carry the same state license.
Where NFPA 70E fits
OSHA does not enforce NFPA 70E. Resorts, lodges and utilities in San Miguel County use it to show how they meet OSHA 1910 Subpart S or 1926 Subpart K, and OSHA can use the General Duty Clause when a recognized electrical hazard goes unaddressed.
Telluride's electrical work environment
Electrical history runs deep here. L. L. Nunn and George Westinghouse built the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant near Ophir in 1891, using two 100 horsepower alternators at 3,000 volts and 133 hertz to power the Gold King Mine, four years before the Westinghouse plant at Niagara Falls. Ames is still running for Xcel Energy at 3.75 MW and is an IEEE Milestone. At the head of the canyon, the 1895 plant at Bridal Veil Falls once powered the Smuggler-Union Mine and has had its generator restored.
The resort economy now drives the workload. Telluride Ski Resort spans the historic town and Mountain Village, a home rule town incorporated in 1995 at about 9,500 feet. Owner Chuck Horning has held the resort since 2004, and its 12 chairlifts and 2 gondolas carry a rated 22,386 skiers per hour. The resort built its first snowmaking system in the 1981 to 1982 season. Hotels, condo towers and restaurants in Mountain Village depend on electrical service in buildings reached partly by gondola.
The town gondola is the most unusual piece of infrastructure. Opened in 1996, it has four stations, tops out at 10,540 feet at St. Sophia and already runs its maximum of 57 cabins, carrying more than 20,000 riders a day in peak season. The Town of Mountain Village operates it through 2027, after which the San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation takes over, and planners want construction of a replacement to begin in 2028.
Lifts, a public gondola and historic hydro in the San Juans
San Miguel County's electrical work sits at high elevation and far from big cities. These are the sites that matter most.
| Site | What is there | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Telluride Ski Resort Chuck Horning (Telski) | 2,000-plus skiable acres with a top elevation of 13,150 feet and lift capacity of 22,386 skiers per hour. | Operating |
| Telluride to Mountain Village gondola Town of Mountain Village | Free four-station gondola opened in 1996, carrying more than 3 million trips a year on 57 cabins. | Operating |
| Gondola replacement San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation | SMART takes over operations after 2027, with construction of a new system targeted to begin in 2028. | Planned |
| Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant Xcel Energy | 3.75 MW plant near Ophir, the 1891 site of the first long-distance industrial AC transmission. | Operating |
| Telluride Regional Medical Center Telluride Hospital District | The area's medical center, which local leaders say has outgrown its current building. | Operating |
| New medical center at Society Turn Telluride Hospital District | Expanded facility planned on donated land between Telluride and Mountain Village. | Planned |
| Telluride Regional Airport Telluride Regional Airport | Airport at 9,070 feet, once the highest commercial airport in the U.S., with weather-limited service. | Operating |
San Miguel Power Association and Tri-State
San Miguel Power Association is the rural electric co-op serving the region, with 15,449 meters, 1,882 miles of line and offices in Nucla and Ridgway. It buys virtually all of its supply from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, and in March 2022 its board voted unanimously to start negotiating a buyout of part of that contract so it could add more local power.
Field conditions are hard on the system. SMPA's current work includes the Red Mountain Electrical Reliability and Broadband Improvement Project, wildfire mitigation and substation maintenance at Ouray, and its lines cross some of the highest, steepest terrain in Colorado. Crews in the San Juans regularly plan outages around snow, avalanche paths and single access roads.
Who we train in Telluride and the San Juans
Lift, snowmaking and facilities electricians at Telluride Ski Resort.
Gondola maintenance and controls staff for Mountain Village and SMART.
Engineering teams running Mountain Village hotels and condo buildings.
Line and substation crews at San Miguel Power Association.
Facilities staff at the Telluride Regional Medical Center.
Town and county electricians and water plant operators, who have no OSHA coverage.
Also serving
Questions from Telluride employers
Our gondola is run by a town. Do we need NFPA 70E training?
Can you train during the off season?
Is high altitude part of the class?
How do we get you to Telluride?
Does finishing the class make someone a qualified electrical worker?
What the people in the room say
“Virtual can never replace hands-on, but the engagement from our instructor and the class made it feel more engaging than some in-person courses I've taken.”
“Probably one of the most useful safety courses I've ever attended. Rick genuinely cares about people and their well-being.”
“This is the 2nd arc flash training course I've taken and the class was amazing. I feel like I'm leaving the training safer than before I took this class.”
Train your Telluride crew on the 2027 edition.
Onsite within a few days, or private live virtual as soon as tomorrow. Need it fast? Call (813) 725-0999.