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LPEA's Board of Directors voted today, March 25, to formally depart from our membership with wholesale power supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association. This will aid LPEA's efforts toward the advancement of affordable, clean energy initiatives, increasing resiliency, and expanding local generation. LPEA joins former Tri-State members Delta Montrose Electric Association and Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, who have already exited Tri-State and Mountain Parks Electric, Northwest Rural Public Power District, and United Power who will fully depart soon.
“This decision was not made lightly and is in alignment with the cooperative principles we were founded on almost 85 years ago," said Ted Compton, Board President of LPEA. “We want the autonomy to manage our future as we are more familiar with unique opportunities and challenges in our backyard than someone on the Front Range.”
Over the past five years, LPEA has brought multiple solutions for its energy future to Tri-State, but Tri-State has not developed any solution approved by its regulator, FERC. Without the ability to rework LPEA’s current restrictive and outdated contract with Tri-State, which runs through the year 2050, LPEA has been unable to have more direct control over its own rates or to seek new clean energy opportunities and to bring those benefits to the local community.
Today’s filing of the Notice of Intent to Withdraw starts a two-year time clock. During this time LPEA will work to secure power contracts, accurately establish costs, and identify the many details needed to exit the outdated and restrictive 50-year contract.
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