Two incumbents secured reelection to the La Plata Electric Association’s Board of Directors on Wednesday, reaffirming their roles with the cooperative.
Tim Wheeler in District 4, which includes northeast La Plata County, bested challenger John Purser by 312 votes. Meanwhile, Kristen Skeehan in District 1, which includes Archuleta County, beat Dusty Mars by 534 votes.
While running for election, Wheeler said that during his time with the board, the co-op has reduced emissions by more than 10%, cut wholesale rates by 4%, and returned $3 million to $4 million in capital credit refunds to members.
“I’m happy the result was in my favor, and the members in my district voted for me by a fairly wide margin,” Wheeler said.
He supported LPEA leaving its contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. He said during his new term he wants LPEA to have more autonomy.
“I’ve championed the idea that we have independence away from this very restrictive contract that we have with Tri-State so that we can do things that represent the interests of LPEA members, rather than Tri-State members,” Wheeler said.
His concern about autonomy relates to Tri-State’s mandate that LPEA purchase 95% of its power from the wholesaler.
Skeehan has served as the District 1 board director since 2018 and has operated Pagosa Springs Baking Co. since 1999.
Her goal if reelected was to focus on solutions for LPEA’s exit from Tri-State in two years as well as the future of power supply. In March, the board elected to vacate its contract with the power wholesaler.
Election results
Kirsten Skeehan - 990 votes
Dusty Mars - 466 votes
Tim Wheeler - 1,030 votes
John Purser - 718 votes
Skeehan voted in favor of doing away with the Tri-State contract, saying she was on the fence about the decision but felt it gave LPEA more flexibility with its power solutions.
“The gentleman who was running against me, Dusty Mars, is a really smart guy, and I felt really secure of, ‘OK, if I don’t win this election, LPEA is going to still be in good hands.’ I really appreciated him getting involved,” she said.
Now that Skeehan has been elected, she said she is excited about LPEA’s power supply transition and co-op’s goal of trying to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
On Wednesday, LPEA announced that the cooperative entered into a strategic agreement with Mercuria Energy America, LLC, which will help the co-op build a new power portfolio after officially leaving Tri-State in April 2026.
Skeehan said the vote to leave Tri-State allowed LPEA freedom to pursue such options.
The co-op said in a news release Wednesday that the move to Mercuria will keep electricity costs lower than 70% of LPEA’s Colorado cooperative peers.
“I think Tri-State remains great for a lot of co-ops, especially smaller ones,” Skeehan said.
Both incumbents in district 2 and district 3, Kohler McInnis and Ted Compton, ran unopposed and were seated on Wednesday.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
