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In-person · Aspen, COElectrical safety training in Aspen, CO
Aspen is a former silver camp that now runs four ski mountains, a critical access trauma hospital and a city electric utility that reached 100 percent renewable supply in 2015. We train the electrical crews who keep Pitkin County's lifts, lodges, hydro plants and public buildings running, at your facility or in an in-person class we set up in Aspen 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 Aspen crew
Crews we train in and around Aspen: ski operations, municipal utility, hospitality, health care, aviation, residential and commercial contractors.
What the class covers for Aspen crews
Half of Aspen's residents buy power from the city and the other half from Holy Cross Energy. We cover how to confirm which system and which source feeds a building before anyone assumes it is de-energized.
The Ruedi and Maroon Creek plants, town solar arrays and micro hydro on water lines all back up into the grid. We teach how generation and stored energy complicate lockout.
Lift and snowmaking electricians move between Aspen Mountain, Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. We build examples around lift terminals, pump stations and long mountain feeders.
Contractors maintaining large second homes deal with service equipment, generators, snowmelt and pool systems. We cover arc flash risk in residential and light commercial gear, not just industrial switchgear.
Aspen at a glance
Federal OSHA (Englewood Area Office)
City of Aspen Electric; Holy Cross Energy
Statewide (Colorado State Electrical Board, DORA)
ASE, EGE
Mountain
Colorado: what applies to your crews
Enforcement: federal OSHA
Pitkin County is handled by federal OSHA's Englewood Area Office, because Colorado does not run a state plan. The City of Aspen's own electric utility crews, along with county and school electricians, are public employees with no OSHA coverage.
Licensing: statewide
Aspen electricians hold licenses from Colorado's State Electrical Board under DORA, which handles journeyman, master and residential wireman licenses and contractor and apprentice registration for the whole state.
Where NFPA 70E fits
OSHA does not enforce NFPA 70E. Roaring Fork employers adopt it as the practical way to satisfy 1910 Subpart S and 1926 Subpart K, and OSHA keeps the General Duty Clause for electrical hazards the standards do not spell out.
Aspen's electrical work environment
Aspen Skiing Company, owned by the Crown family, operates Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass. Snowmass alone covers 3,362 acres next to Snowmass Village, with three gondolas among its lifts, and Buttermilk got a $23 million renovation announced in 2022. The company also built a 3 MW plant at Oxbow's Elk Creek Mine in Somerset in 2012 that turns coal mine methane into electricity, and it has been developing a small hydro unit at Snowmass.
Aspen Valley Hospital, founded in 1891, is a Level III trauma center and critical access hospital on Castle Creek Road, recertified by the state in June 2026 after tracking nearly 450 trauma patients in 2025. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport sits at 7,820 feet on a single 8,006 foot runway, with a 1976 terminal that county voters agreed to modernize in 2024 along with a runway relocation and widening.
Aspen surpassed Leadville as the top U.S. silver district in 1891 and 1892, then nearly emptied after the Panic of 1893. Today about 7,000 people live in the city, and the 2020 census counted 39.4 percent of Pitkin County housing units as vacant, a sign of how many are second homes. Large residences, luxury hotels and all electric projects such as Electric Pass Lodge in Snowmass Base Village keep electricians busy with heating, snowmelt and control systems year round.
Four mountains and the Roaring Fork Valley
Aspen's electrical work centers on the ski company, health care, aviation and a locally owned power system. These are the main sites.
| Site | What is there | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Snowmass Aspen Skiing Company | 3,362 acres with three gondolas, opened in December 1967. | Operating |
| Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk Aspen Skiing Company | Three more lift networks around town, including Buttermilk's $23 million renovation. | Operating |
| Aspen Valley Hospital Aspen Valley Health | Level III trauma center and critical access hospital serving the Roaring Fork Valley. | Operating |
| Aspen/Pitkin County Airport Pitkin County | 8,006 foot runway at 7,820 feet, with commercial service from American, Delta and United. | Operating |
| Airport runway and terminal modernization Pitkin County | Runway relocation and widening approved by voters in November 2024, with design proposals sought in 2025. | Planned |
| Ruedi Power Plant City of Aspen | 5.0 MW hydro unit at Ruedi Reservoir, the city's first new renewable project. | Operating |
| Maroon Creek Hydro City of Aspen | 450 kW plant that supplies roughly 3 to 5 percent of city power. | Operating |
City of Aspen Electric and Holy Cross Energy
Aspen has a split electric system. The city's own utility serves about half of residents and has been fully renewable since 2015, after a goal set in 2006. Its supply comes from the Ruedi and Maroon Creek hydro plants, all the output of an 8 MW hydro facility at Ridgway Reservoir, wind and landfill gas from the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, and federal hydropower through WAPA.
Holy Cross Energy serves the rest of Aspen along with Snowmass Village and much of the valley. Snowmass Village buys renewable power through the co-op, runs eight solar arrays of about 225 kW on town buildings and added a micro hydro turbine on a water line in 2022. All that generation on customer property is good for the climate and a real hazard for anyone who skips the step of verifying every source.
Who we train in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley
Lift, snowmaking and building electricians at Aspen Skiing Company's four mountains.
City of Aspen electric and water crews, who work without OSHA coverage.
Engineering teams at Aspen hotels and Snowmass Base Village properties.
Facilities staff at Aspen Valley Hospital.
Airport maintenance staff and fixed base operator tenants at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport.
Electricians maintaining second homes and commercial buildings from Aspen to Basalt.
Also serving
Questions from Aspen employers
Our town runs its own electric utility. Does OSHA apply to us?
We maintain luxury homes, not industrial plants. Is the class relevant?
Can you split a class between the ski company and a contractor?
How do we plan work on a building fed by solar and batteries?
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 Aspen 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.