La Plata Electric Association staff members have fired back against allegations a change in the board’s voting process is at fault for increased electricity rates in the new year.
“The board of directors have been involved all along in the process this year, so they had time to provide input and ask questions,” said Indiana Reed, spokeswoman for LPEA.
Reed provided The Durango Herald with a memo sent to all board members dated March 12, 2015, that shows a structured timeline of all meetings related to rate development.
“We are proposing enhancing our normal process,” Ronald Meier, manager of engineering, wrote in the memo. “We will involve the Board of Directors at various points along the process, instead at the end as we have done in the past.”
The timeline clearly shows the board was slated to adopt new rates for 2016 in November. Reed said the board was even notified of a change in the voting process a year before by LPEA’s attorney.
“For them to say they weren’t notified or warned is just not right,” Reed said. “It blindsided us for them to say that. But what we really want, is for our members to understand this was a process not done in a dark closet somewhere with no input from anyone.”
In November, the LPEA board voted 6-5 to increase usage rates an estimated $5.25 a month and raise the base rate from $20.50 to $21.50. Several board members said they were under the impression the final vote would be held in December, as was the process in the past.
Bob Lynch, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, previously told the Herald he scheduled a vacation in November, thinking he would be back for the final vote in December.
Instead, Lynch, a District 1 representative vocally against a rate increase, missed the November vote, effectively allowing the characteristically deadlocked board to approve higher rates in 2016.
District 3 representative Britt Bassett said he may have seen the memos, but the change in the voting process was never pointed out or made explicit in meetings.
“LPEA has a really poor system of getting information to directors,” Bassett said. “It’s hard to get anything pointed out. We get enough stuff passed our way, it’s not unusual to miss something.
“But this time it was more important,” he said. “We were expecting there to be a preliminary vote in November, 30 days public notice and a final in December. That’s the way I understood it. It’s probably my fault I didn’t get it straight.”
At December’s board meeting, Bassett and Lynch weren’t the only members complaining about the lack of communication between staff members and the board. District 1 representative Mark Garcia and District 4 representative Jack Turner also voiced concerns.
However, District 4 representative Joe Wheeling said the process was clear from the beginning, with several meetings throughout the year walking board members through the timeline.
“To be honest, it feels a little bit like they are using this to get votes rather than be completely up front about how the process really worked,” Wheeling said.
District 2 representative Davin Montoya reiterated Wheeling’s sentiments, adding it was a total shock when he read the other board members’ comments about the confusion.
“I don’t understand how they could be confused if they were paying attention,” Montoya said. “I was pretty disappointed in it. Staff goes way out of their way to keep us updated.”
The differing opinions reflect, once again, the even split between board members who want to pursue renewable energy and more traditional members who find renewable energy not financially feasible.
In December, looking to reverse at least part of November’s decision, Garcia proposed an amendment that would have kept the base charge at $20.50. With a full board, the motion failed on a 6-6 vote.
“They’re posturing themselves to say they tried to do the right thing,” Montoya said. “When the right thing is we have to charge what we have to charge.”
LPEA has repeatedly explained that the base charge covers the cost of infrastructure to deliver electricity to residents’ homes, but some board members maintain LPEA is contributing to the escalating cost of living in La Plata County while at the same time not investing enough resources into renewable energy.
Asked if there could be a way to find common ground between the opposing factions, Montoya wasn’t optimistic.
“We’ve tried working with these guys, but they have an agenda,” he said. “And they’ll do whatever they can to fit their agenda. I don’t know how to reconcile it, to tell the truth.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
