By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice
When La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) members open their May power bills, most will see the effects of a 7.72% rate increase that quietly took effect April 1. While LPEA’s board says the hike is needed to cover infrastructure and supply costs, many members are beginning to ask harder questions – not just about what they’re paying, but about how their cooperative is being run.
From 2019 to 2023, La Plata Electric Association’s revenue barely grew, just $3 million over five years. But its expenses went up by more than $10 million, causing profits to drop sharply.
In 2019, LPEA made $10.3 million in net income.
By 2023, that had fallen to just $3.8 million, a 63% decline. That means the co-op now keeps only 3 cents of every dollar it takes in. It looks like top-level spending is part of the problem.
In 2023, LPEA’s CEO received over $628,000 in pay and benefits, and more than a dozen employees were paid six-figure salaries. But during this time, LPEA didn’t grow its customer base, expand its service area – or invest in new local power generation.
In that final year, only 3.3% of LPEA’s $114 million in revenue remained after expenses.
Despite shrinking margins, spending at the top surged. All of this has occurred without any notable expansion in LPEA’s service footprint.
The number of meters in the system has remained flat at just under 49,000. No new power generation has come online. And the $209 million exit fee to leave LPEA’s long-term supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, was approved without a member vote.
LPEA’s replacement supplier, Mercuria, is a Swiss-based global commodities trader with no local generation assets.
Under the current arrangement, LPEA is still purchasing 30% of its power from Tri-State and depends on Tri-State’s transmission lines to deliver it. Meanwhile, major local projects like the Dolores Canyon Solar installation are still a year away from completion. And the LPEA board has acknowledged that no shovel-ready alternatives are in place.
Several members have questioned whether the Mercuria contract exposes the cooperative to market volatility. With no in-house energy production and no long-term price guarantees, LPEA’s reliance on a trading firm rather than a generator could leave the co-op vulnerable to future spikes in the energy market.
According to Durango Herald reporting, one woman said at the outset, “We do not want Tri-State being bought out and you going to a different company.” Another attendee disputed Hansen’s claim about past executive pay: “That’s a false number. Get your phone out… Go look at the 990s.”
“Been sold out again,” one woman said before walking out just minutes into the meeting, the Durango Herald reported.
While LPEA has emphasized transparency and regularly publishes board minutes and salary data, some members say that information alone isn’t enough.
Requests for financial documents require internal review and have reportedly taken more than 30 days to fulfill.
“We were promised local control,” one member put it. “What we got was rising bills, surging executive pay and a $209 million deal we never voted on.”
With ballots in hand, members are weighing more than just who sits on the board. They’re being asked to trust leadership with rising administrative costs, a $209 million debt from the Tri-State exit, no local power generation in place – and a long-term deal with a global energy trader that still raises questions about reliability and risk.
For many, the broader concern is whether transparency and fiscal discipline have kept pace with the promises of local control.
The stakes are now directly in the hands of members. Four LPEA board seats are up for election, and ballots were mailed April 21.
How to vote in the 2025 LPEA board election
- Online voting is available now through the LPEA SmartHub system and closes Tuesday, May 20 at 12 PM.
- Paper ballots must be received at LPEA by 4 PM on May 20.
- Ballots can be dropped off at:
- LPEA Durango Office: 45 Stewart Street
- LPEA Pagosa Springs Office: 603 S. 8th Street
- In-person voting and the annual meeting take place May 21 at the LPEA Truck Barn in Durango, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Meeting agenda and RSVP details are available at lpea.coop/annual-meeting.
Instructions for online voting can be found at lpea.coop/board-elections-guide-online-voting.
Full election details, including key dates and candidate info, are posted at lpea.coop/elections.
Only about 25% of eligible members typically vote in LPEA elections. For those who are paying more and wondering why, this election may be the first real opportunity to ask – and answer – that question.