Did you know the La Plata Electric Association board of directors voted in favor of editing the official minutes and to censor the public record?
At the September board meeting, Britt Bassett, Jack Turner and others decided it was proper to delete from the minutes nearly two hours of dialogue that took place at the August meeting regarding Bassett’s conflicts of interest.
For those who don’t know, Britt was a founder of CalCom Energy, a large solar company based in California who is now seeking to sell power to LPEA via what is known as a PURPA request. This action will financially benefit Bassett and is an obvious conflict of interest.
CalCom has now become an employee-owned corporation in which Bassett financed the change of ownership. Bassett will only get repaid if CalCom continues to sell projects. The PURPA request is for a project which cannot be completed unless the LPEA breaks its long-term contract with Tri-State.
While there may be truth in the desire to transfer our power generation to a more renewable source, the path the board has taken (a path likely to increase members’ electric rates) will result in lining Bassett’s pockets. Yet Turner and other board members helped Bassett deceive LPEA members when they voted in favor of censoring the minutes.
The good news is we still have honest directors like Doug Lyon, Dan Huntington and others who voted against this action.
Transparency is not a fluid term, and without it the board has no integrity.
Sarah Ferrell
Durango
