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LPEA special election: Mail ballots due by May 20 as member frustrations grow
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

LPEA special election: Mail ballots due by May 20 as member frustrations grow

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice It’s crunch time for mail-in ballots in the La Plata Electric Association (LPEA)  board election – and with contested seats and rising costs in the mix, turnout matters. Ballots have to be in LPEA’s hands by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 20 – postmarks don’t count. With slow mail times a known issue, LPEA voters who haven’t yet mailed their ballot should drop it off in person or vote online through SmartHub. Online voting closes at noon on May 20. Paper ballots are due by 4 p.m. Results will be shared at the annual meeting on May 21, from 11:30 to 12:30 at LPEA’s Durango office. Drop boxes are located at: 45 Stewart Street, Durango 603 S. 8th Street, Pagosa Springs With four contested seats on the ballot this year, the stakes ar...
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Members left in the dark: LPEA board spends big while margins shrink and bills climb
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Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Members left in the dark: LPEA board spends big while margins shrink and bills climb

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 do...
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Tri-State set to pay $70M in aid to Craig, Moffat County to offset closing power plant, coal mines
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Tri-State set to pay $70M in aid to Craig, Moffat County to offset closing power plant, coal mines

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Moffat County and the city of Craig are in line for $70 million in aid from the utility shuttering the local power plant and the coal mines that supply it, under a settlement filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Tri-State, which provides wholesale power to 41 rural electric cooperatives in four states, also agreed to locate a new natural gas-fired unit in Moffat County and transfer a water storage right to the county. “This community assistance agreement is a win for our community now and into the future,” Moffat County Commissioner Melody Villard said in an email. The settlement, part of Tri-State’s Electric Resource Plan, must still be approved by the PUC. The electric resource plan lays out the utility’s proposal for deve...
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