Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is at a crossroads as its 42 rural co-ops look to generate more of their own electricity or buy it on the open market
Delta-Montrose Electric Association
Posted inClimate, Energy, News
Delta County thought solar panels were a baaaaad idea. But what if there were 1,000 sheep grazing under them?
The question before the Delta County Commission this month is whether 1,000 sheep can forge a path for dozens of solar panels — after the commissioners rejected a solar project citing concerns about losing farmland. In March, the commission, on a 2-1 vote, rejected an 80-megawatt solar project covering 475 acres just outside of Delta, […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, News
After long battle, 3 Colorado electric co-ops may renegotiate with Tri-State instead of leaving outright
In the jockeying for a new relationship between Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the rural cooperatives it supplies with electricity, three Colorado co-ops are seeking partial contracts with the power wholesaler — instead of leaving outright. Tri-State and some of its cooperatives have been battling over the association’s long-term contract, which requires members to […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News
United Power should be able to leave Tri-State for less than a tenth of a proposed $1.6B exit fee, federal report says
In the running battle over how much a suburban Denver electric cooperative must pay to leave the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the co-op picked up some ammunition in a report by a federal energy economist that calls the association’s exit fee calculations flawed and unreasonable. The exit fee for Brighton-based United Power should be […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Western Slope county rejects solar project over fear of losing a sliver of farmland
A plan to provide solar power to a Western Slope rural electric cooperative ran aground last week when the Delta County Board of Commissioners rejected a zoning change for the 472-acre project, citing concerns over the loss of farmland in the county. The 80-megawatt solar project proposed by Guzman Energy would have supplied the Delta-Montrose […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, News, Politics and Government
United Power makes good on threat to break its contract with Tri-State Generation
After years of legal sparring, United Power, the largest electric cooperative in the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, is moving to break with the wholesale power provider. The Brighton-based co-op filed notice of its intent to withdraw from the association, effective January 2024, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC oversees Tri-State. United follows […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Rural electric co-ops get shocking estimates of the cost to break up with Tri-State Generation
Rural electric cooperatives seeking to leave the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association have received exit fee estimates in a federal filing and it adds up to billions of dollars The respective price tags for two Colorado co-ops in the forefront of the exit movement — Brighton-based United Power and Durango-based La Plata Electric Association — […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Tri-State must tell members seeking cleaner, cheaper energy how much it would cost to break up, regulators say
Western rural electric cooperatives that have repeatedly asked how much it will cost for them to leave the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association are facing “unjust and unreasonable or unduly discriminatory” hurdles in getting those numbers, according to federal energy regulators. “The lack of clear and transparent exit provisions has allowed Tri-State to impose substantial […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News
Co-ops trying to leave Tri-State say the electric utility is “stonewalling” by refusing to calculate the price to exit
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is “stonewalling” efforts by seven rural electric cooperatives – in Colorado, New Mexico and Nebraska – to get estimates on how much it will cost them to leave the association, according to a complaint filed with federal regulators. “Tri-State’s refusal to perform the calculation required… is patently unjust and unreasonable,” […]
Posted inBusiness, Energy, Environment, News
Tri-State’s clean energy battles with two Colorado electric co-ops now threaten the utility’s finances
The battle between the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and two of its Colorado electric cooperatives seeking to ditch their memberships has become so pitched that it is now sprawling across state and federal regulatory agencies and the courts. The two – Brighton-based United Power and the Durango-based La Plata Electric Association – want to […]