Poudre Valley REA Inc. has joined several other electric co-ops in demanding an exit fee quote from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc., marking another twist in a long-running legal saga between the power wholesaler and two other co-ops in Colorado.
In a filing this month with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, PVREA seeks to intervene in the ongoing complaints brought by Brighton’s United Power Inc. and the La Plata Electric Association Inc. in Durango.
PVREA said that it has an interest in the outcome of the case after asking Tri-State in February for an exit quote to buy out its supplier agreement.
Five other cooperatives in Colorado, Nebraska and New Mexico also filed motions to intervene in the broader proceedings.
Electric co-ops that contract with Tri-State are required to purchase 95% of their power load from the power wholesaler, and the remainder can be procured from other sources or self-generated.
In its response to the federal body, Tri-State said PVREA and its fellow want-away co-ops were re-hashing arguments that were already rejected and accused them of mischaracterizing member by-laws that they all helped adopt.
Some of the particular by-laws in question cap the number of members who can ask for an exit fee calculation at three per year, and requirements to make want-away members pay at least $75,000 and up to $200,000 for Tri-State to calculate those exit costs.
PVREA’s plans to exit Tri-State would make them another combatant in a bitter and long-running dispute between the wholesaler and some of its members seeking to source non-carbon energy faster than Tri-State’s stated goal of reducing emissions by 80% by 2030.
In late 2019, Brighton’s United Power Inc. and the LPEA petitioned the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to require Tri-State to give them a fair exit quote. The proceedings bounced around from state jurisdiction to the federal level after FERC declared it had oversight over Tri-State after several non-utility companies joined as members.
United has since sued the CPUC and Tri-State in court, alleging that Tri-State misled it and other members into allowing non-utilities into the group as part of a larger effort to keep want-away members from leaving the organization.
Both of those lawsuits are ongoing.
PVREA covers large swaths of unincorporated Larimer and Weld counties, along with parts of Loveland and portions of northwest Boulder County, and provides power to approximately 45,000 residential and commercial customers. It is Tri-State’s second-largest member behind United Power.
United provided almost 15% of Tri-State’s entire operating revenues in 2019. It covers all of Brighton and several smaller towns in Weld County, such as Erie, Frederick, Firestone, Fort Lupton and Keenesburg. It also provides power to parts of northeast Thornton, Broomfield and Lafayette.
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Poudre Valley REA joins long-running legal battle to force exit fee estimates from Tri-State - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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