In lieu of making a decision in advance of a pertinent
Tri-State Generation and Transmission, from which LPEA purchases 95 percent of its power, proposed the waiver, which would give Tri-State authority to negotiate with qualifying facilities.
Qualifying facilities are generating facilities that offer power at special rates and meet standards defined under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. They are often local, renewable energy sources.
The proposed waiver came in response to a dispute that arose last year between Tri-State and one of its member cooperatives, the Delta-Montrose Electric Association, over whether the cooperative can purchase power from qualifying facilities. The federal commission found that DMEA could do so, but it has not ruled on whether Tri-State is entitled to recover from the cooperative costs lost as a result of the qualifying facility.
That decision is expected to come next week, and may bear on the LPEA board’s decision to support or oppose the optional waiver. The board agreed to take up the issue at its July meeting with more discussion.
“This might have some implications we’re not aware of yet,” District 4 representative Karen Barger said.
Mike Dreyspring, the association’s CEO, said he surveyed Tri-State’s cooperatives. Of the 32 that responded, he said 18 favored the waiver. Others, like LPEA, are taking a wait-and-see approach pending the federal ruling.
Proponents of the waiver said that, lacking sufficient staff and resources, they prefer to rely on Tri-State to take the lead on negotiating with other power providers. Critics do not want to relinquish local control, or miss opportunities to advance the economy through local energy projects.
Arguing that the waiver would violate the spirit of local control central to the cooperative, all members of the public who attended Wednesday’s meeting sounded their objection to the waiver, including J.R. Ford, who proposed a biomass project in Pagosa Springs but said Tri-State was difficult to do business with. The project has not come to fruition.
“If Tri-State didn’t negotiate in good faith in that scenario, I doubt they will in another,” Ford said. “I encourage you not to give Tri-State any more control than they already have.”
Durango City Councilor Sweetie Marbury, on the council’s behalf, encouraged the board to postpone the vote to give time to fully understand the waiver’s implications. The city manager will meet with LPEA staff this week to discuss it, she said.
jpace@durangoherald.com
