As La Plata Electric Association’s elected board of directors, we serve on behalf of the cooperative’s member-owners. Our responsibility is one of governance and fiduciary oversight: setting policy, providing strategic direction and ensuring that the cooperative is managed in a way that protects the long-term interests of the membership.
Transparency, trust and stewardship are central to that responsibility. We regularly hear from members who want to better understand how their cooperative operates, how decisions are made and how member dollars are managed. That engagement is welcome and essential to a healthy cooperative.
At the same time, transparency must be balanced with responsibility. LPEA operates in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving energy environment, and some information – particularly detailed financial, contractual and market-sensitive data – cannot be publicly released without creating risk for the cooperative and, ultimately, the members it serves.
The board ensures that multiple mechanisms for accountability and transparency are in place. Board meetings are publicly noticed and recorded, audited financial statements are published annually, and executive team compensation is disclosed. In addition, the board administers a formal, board-governed process that allows members to request access to certain nonpublic information.
All information requests that need to be reviewed by the elected board of directors are evaluated in light of the board’s fiduciary obligations to the cooperative. In making these decisions, the board must weigh the potential benefit of disclosure against potential risks, including impacts to existing confidentiality agreements, negotiating leverage, system security, operational burden, long-term cost exposure and other legal considerations. This balancing is a core governance function of the board, not a matter of day-to-day operations.
Financial transparency does not always mean releasing granular or customized data. LPEA does provide core financial statements – the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement – that offer a complete, standardized and independently audited view of the cooperative’s financial condition. Requests for custom breakouts or alternative classifications often require additional analysis and may not provide additional insight beyond what audited statements already offer.
In addition, because we operate in a competitive industry, some disclosures can also have unintended consequences. Detailed financial disaggregation can reveal vendor pricing, contract structures or operational strategies. Once public, such information may be used by counterparties in future negotiations, potentially increasing costs. Because LPEA is a nonprofit, member-owned cooperative, any increase in cost is ultimately borne by members through our rates.
For this reason, the board’s responsibility includes protecting sensitive information when disclosure would undermine the cooperative’s financial position or competitive standing. This is not about limiting transparency; it is about exercising prudent stewardship of member-owned assets so all members benefit from the lowest possible cost of electricity service. This competitive reality shapes how the board evaluates disclosure requests.
The board also recognizes that accountability requires visibility into decision-making. Decisions regarding member information requests are voted on publicly by a quorum of the elected board. While certain deliberations must occur in executive session because of confidentiality or security considerations, members can be assured that each request is reviewed thoughtfully and that decisions reflect fiduciary duty.
As LPEA’s board of directors, we are committed to leading with integrity, governing with respect and honoring the trust placed in us as stewards of the cooperative’s future. That commitment guides how we approach transparency, accountability and the careful protection of the member-owned assets entrusted to our care.
The LPEA board of directors is Brad Blake (District 2), Ted Compton (District 3), Rachel Landis (District 3), John Lee Jr. (District 2), Joe Lewandowski (District 3), David Luschen (District 4), Dusty Mars (District 1), Kohler McInnis (District 2), Nicole Pitcher (District 1), Kirsten Skeehan (District 1), Tim Wheeler (District 4), and John Witchel (District 4). Reach them at comments@lpea.coop.
