Many years ago when I attended an annual meeting of the La Plata Electric Association, I approached the then-head of the utility and expressed that I thought the unclaimed capital credits could better serve the active “user/membership” by using those funds for maintenance and improvement to the utility’s infrastructure – instead of donating unclaimed monies to local charities as they do.
The answer he gave was that this was impossible because LPEA was already set in how it deals with unclaimed funds. I still believe that unclaimed capital credits should revert to being the property of the membership at large and used specifically to insure the continued safety and delivery of our electrical power delivery system.
Fast forward to today: Why isn’t change possible, especially given what’s been happening in California with destructive fires out there? Land and structures in California continue to be destroyed, people left homeless and lives lost. I understand their power delivery system is facing insolvency/bankruptcy because of deferred maintenance, needed improvements – and now lawsuits. We need to take a hard look at California and what’s happened/happening there and use it as an example. To put it bluntly: The horse got out because they didn’t close the barn door.
Our LPEA service area (and the West in general) has been experiencing severe drought conditions and climate change over past years which could possibly produce disastrous results if we don’t make good decisions now. Colorado’s Western Slope is also in the unenviable position of having to fight off demands from the Eastern Slope for our water to accommodate growth there.
Couldn’t LPEA, at the very least, allocate even a portion of unclaimed capital credit monies to infrastructure repair/improvement to insure safe power delivery to its current user members?
If LPEA’s systems are currently in top-notch condition, the money could be deposited in a fund earmarked for future use to accommodate the epic growth our own area is experiencing.
I, for one, don’t want to be left in the dark like California, still looking for that horse.
Anita HermosilloDurango
