Have you ever wondered why La Plata Electric Association insists on forcing its smart-meter agenda over what the consumer wants? I found out that if one pays their bill late and receives a disconnect notice, he is no longer eligible to be in the smart-meter opt-out program.

I came home today to see an “AMI” meter installed after I told LPEA that I do not want one. I asked someone there why LPEA cares about enforcing smart meters on the 300 people that have chosen to opt-out – of 44,000 people. The answer did not satisfy. We were paying the extortion fee just so that we could keep our analog meter, and that wasn’t good enough.

Does the board of directors think it is clever to put in place such a law that violates the consumer’s wishes and no one would notice or say anything? I was told it cost LPEA more money to send out a disconnect notice (which, by the way, the check was in the mail). I will gladly pay the 60-cent printer-ink fee, or whatever it cost, if only LPEA would respect my right as a consumer. Shouldn’t consumers have the ultimate say in what they desire? Why do we allow greedy corporations to bully us into their agendas? Even if we pay our bill late, we are the ones giving our money to this company that would not exist without us. We should have a say in what we are paying for!

LPEA may not care about my voice as one of its customers since paying one’s bill late means no respect. I will not be subjected to the co-op’s bully tactics.

I assure you, this issue isn’t over.

I will be voting for Nicholas Kazarinoff to the board of directors. It’s time we put conscious people in positions where they can make a difference. Apparently, there is no conscience at LPEA as it stands today. We will be looking into going off the grid. LPEA can’t bully everyone!

Devina St. Claire

Pagosa Springs