La Plata Electric Association is undergoing a transition that voters from both political parties can appreciate. Freeing themselves from a bureaucratic indebted partner and moving to a model of local and self-generated electricity. This transition will create local jobs and ultimately drive down the cost of electricity for all LPEA members.
Time is of the essence. For decades LPEA has depended on wholesale electricity from Tri-State Generation and Transmission, a money-losing behemoth reeling from decades of mistakes. When natural gas was cheap, they built an expensive coal mine in Craig, Colorado, and shoveled money into old coal plants.
Those mistakes have saddled them with a $3.5 billion mountain of debt. That debt pile seems to only grow. In short, Tri-State is a money pit. In order to stay solvent, Tri-State asked for and received $2.5 billion in low-interest loans from the Biden administration to shutter their aging coal-fired power fleet and transition to cleaner energy.
That bailout is in jeopardy as the Trump administration has impounded the funding. There are signs that the low-interest loans will be released but still, Tri-State is in a corner, extending and pretending their creaky and aging infrastructure is ready for the modern age.
All that debt is on rural folks’ shoulders, bailout or not. Time to pay our share now, and follow in the buy-out footsteps of DMEA and Kit Carson.
The conservative slate of LPEA candidates is playing a dangerous game with talk of staying with Tri-State and its financial house of cards. There’s a clear choice: John Witchel, Joe Lewandowski and Holly Metzler.
Dave Marston
Durango
