Mountain Parks Electric, which provides electric service to Grand County, has selected Virginia Harman as the cooperative’s next general manager. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, the board of directors chose Harman to succeed current general manager Mark Johnston on March 6, 2023.

Harman is Yampa Valley Electric Association’s chief operating officer in Steamboat Springs. She will be Mountain Park’s eighth general manager in the company’s nearly 80-year history.

“We are excited to welcome Virginia to our community and are confident that she is the right fit for Mountain Parks Electric and its consumers,” stated Board President Liz McIntyre in a news release. “The electric industry is in a state of rapid transition, which presents opportunities and challenges for us here at Mountain Parks Electric. Even so, going forward, we will keep our focus on reliability, affordability and safety. Virginia comes to us with impressive credentials and is well suited to navigate the path ahead.”

Harman has 17 years of electric industry experience, including 15 years in executive leadership roles. Before becoming COO of the Yampa Valley Electric Association, she was COO and acting CEO of Delta-Montrose Electric Association in Montrose, Colorado. She worked at Glacier Electric Co-op in Montana before that. Her first full-time job in the industry was with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“My family and I have always lived in rural America and community is very important to us,” she said in the release. “We are looking forward to moving to the Granby area and becoming active members of the community.”  

Johnston will retire on March 6, after serving Mountain Parks since April 2019.

“Mark accomplished a lot in his time here,” said Mountain Parks director Jeff Hauck. “Over the past year and a half, Mountain Parks Electric brought two local commercial solar arrays online, implemented numerous cost-cutting measures, expanded our community outreach and introduced new consumer programs.”

Despite rising energy costs, Mountain Parks will hold electric rates stable for the seventh consecutive year, after finalizing their 2023 operating budget. The not-for-profit cooperative headquartered is in Granby. The cooperative provides service to more than 20,000 member-consumers in north central Colorado, including all of Grand and Jackson counties and parts of Larimer, Routt and Summit counties.