By Ilana Newman
In southwest Colorado, a rural electric cooperative is taking a big step towards energy independence and locally driven power decisions.
La Plata Electric Association (LPEA), a rural electric co-op for parts of Southwest Colorado, is in the middle of a two-year contract termination process to leave Tri-State, the generation and transmission organization that currently provides LPEA with electricity.
Rural electric cooperatives are member-owned, not-for-profit organizations that provide electricity to more than half of the country, including most of rural America. Established in the 1930s, electric co-ops were the government-backed response to a lack of investor-owned electric utilities in rural areas.
Venturing Out on Their Own
The cooperative model means that all customers of the electric co-op are also its owners. Each co-op has a member-elected board of directors that makes strategic decisions, most of which can be made without member approval, based on the bylaws of the individual co-op.
In March 2024, LPEA provided unconditional notice to leave Tri-State, starting a two-year stopwatch for the withdrawal from its contract and membership with the not-for-profit generation and transmission organization.
Click here to see more...