LPEA has made huge headway in its fight for cleaner, cheaper power here in Southwest Colorado. But by illegally adding new members to the cooperative “family”, Tri-State qualified for federal regulation – pre-empting current state regulation under the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). We need you to tell the PUC to rule that Tri-State’s new members were added illegally so that the PUC can keep its jurisdiction and LPEA can keep moving forward. What’s Happening:
It gets a little wonky here, so hang on! If you want a deeper dive into these issues, we’ve got more detail at the bottom of the page.
As part of its strategy to attain cheaper, cleaner power, LPEA has been exploring a buyout from its power provider, Tri-State. LPEA asked for an exit charge estimate last year, and when Tri-State refused to give it to them, LPEA filed a complaint at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Last month, the PUC gave a preliminary ruling which held that Tri-State had been unjust, unreasonable, and discriminatory by not providing LPEA with an exit fee. The PUC also was moving towards determining an exit fee methodology for LPEA, and was going to issue a final decision in November. This was great news- LPEA was closer than ever to being able to best evaluate its options for member-owners!
But while all of this was going on, Tri-State was angling for federal regulation under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) so that the PUC wouldn’t have authority over these kinds of disputes. FERC regulation puts cooperatives trying to exit Tri-State at a severe disadvantage – exactly what Tri-State wants.
To qualify for FERC regulation and pre-empt the PUC’s jurisdiction over exit charge disputes, Tri-State added three non-utility members- illegally! If Tri-State continues with FERC regulation, LPEA will lose all the progress it’s made at the PUC and will have to restart at FERC- a process that will take significantly longer and be much more expensive. We need your voice to be heard to keep this case firmly under state regulation so that LPEA can keep moving towards a future of cleaner, cheaper power: tell the Colorado PUC that Tri-State’s additional members were added illegally & that the PUC must therefore keep its jurisdiction over Tri-State.
TAKE ACTION! Go here to the San Juan Citizens Alliance page to take action now to keep LPEA moving towards clean energy.
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