We have a lot at stake in this year’s congressional election. I am voting for Gail Schwartz because I want Western Colorado to play a productive role in America’s energy future.
Why would a market gardener from Durango buy lettuce from Kansas? Why would I buy my beef from Nebraska when we have some of the healthiest, happiest cows grazing right here in our backyards?
So, why do we continue to buy most of our power from out of state when we have the resources to generate everything we need right here in Western Colorado?
The short answer is that our energy provider, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, wants you to pay for its bad investments in out-of-date, out-of-state coal plants.
Federal law requires all utility companies to buy locally generated renewable power. But Tri-State does not play by those rules. Rather than adapting to the new energy economy, Tri-State wants to limit local economic growth by requiring that 95 percent of all the power we use be purchased from their expensive, dirty, old coal plants.
Sadly, Tri-State’s fleet of lawyers is back in federal court for a second time, continuing work to erode our energy freedom.
We have everything we need to develop an affordable, sustainable and reliable energy economy right here in Western Colorado, including solar, micro hydro, biomass, geothermal, battery storage and one of the largest natural gas fields in the country.
In the coming years, this issue will most likely end up before Congress. As electrical cooperative members, we will need a strong intelligent voice in Congress to represent us. Gail Schwartz has that voice; she understands Colorado’s energy economy. She will fight hard to give La Plata Electric Association members the decision-making power to control where and how we buy our energy.
A vote for Gail is a vote for energy freedom.
Sam Perry
Durango
