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Co-ops oppose more state regulation
Clean-energy advocates say oversight would increase use of renewables
Herald Denver Bureau
Clean-energy advocates, however, urged the state to take a greater role in regulating Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, saying the coal-heavy company's power plants affect everyone, not just its customers.
The PUC opened an investigation this year into whether it should regulate Tri-State's resource plan, which would give the state greater say over how Tri-State generates its electricity.
Global warming is the "elephant in the room" of the Tri-State discussion, PUC Chairman Ron Binz said.
For now, the commission is only gathering information on whether it should regulate Tri-State, which is owned by its member cooperatives, including La Plata Electric Association and Empire Electric Association in Southwest Colorado.
Gov. Bill Ritter appointed PUC commissioners like Binz who are concerned about global warming and the carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. The Legislature also has passed laws to promote clean energy, including a requirement that rural co-ops get at least 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
On Thursday, the three PUC commissioners heard both sides of the argument from a 10-person panel that included Neal Stephens, general manager of Empire Electric.
"Our membership really isn't interested in paying a lot more for the renewable portfolio standard," Stephens said.
About 60 percent of Empire's customers don't believe humans cause global warming, Stephens said, so Empire leaders don't push the issue with Tri-State. However, the Cortez utility is working on a number of small renewable-power projects, including a "micro-hydro" generator with the city of Cortez and a solar setup for the new Mesa Verde National Park visitor's center. Empire also has retired 729 old, energy-sucking refrigerators from its customers, Stephens said.
Even Delta-Montrose Electric Association - the co-op that promotes renewable energy more than any other in Colorado - opposed further regulation of Tri-State, despite past squabbles with Tri-State over clean energy.
"We still are co-op people. We believe in the philosophy, and we believe in the control that exists there," said Dan McClendon, DMEA's general manager.
Renewable-energy advocates, though, complained that Tri-State makes its decisions behind closed doors and has kicked out solar promoters from its meetings.
"PUC regulation is the best way to encourage the Tri-State system to make investments that are consistent with Colorado energy policy," said Bruce Driver, who represented environmentalists on Thursday's panel.
For a PUC-regulated utility, members of the public would have a chance to be heard on resource plans. Tri-State's system is more informal. If people want to do a renewable-energy project, they would first approach a co-op manager like Stephens, said Ken Reif, Tri-State's general counsel. If the general manager liked it, he would take it to Tri-State for approval.
"Our system is far more efficient," Reif said.
Tri-State is re-evaluating its long-term resource plan to see if it should include more natural gas and renewable energy, but it wants to stay free of state mandates.
But the company's system locks out people affected by Tri-State, Driver said.
"You don't have to be a member of a Tri-State co-op to have an interest in Tri-State's resource plan, because the emissions, particularly CO2 emissions, affect all of us," Driver said.
The PUC commissioners will talk about their next step at a meeting later this year, maybe in mid- to late September, Binz said. If they decide to try to regulate Tri-State, commissioners would convene a formal rulemaking.
Tri-State this month announced its first major wind project in Colorado, a 51-megawatt wind farm in Kit Carson County in eastern Colorado.
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