Today, Guardians filed complaints with utility commissioners in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming, demanding an investigation into Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s reliance on coal and the company’s electricity rates.
Tri-State provides wholesale power and transmission services to 43 member rural electric cooperatives in the aforementioned four states. Recent reports have found that if Tri-State switched from coal to renewable energy, it could reduce rates and save its members hundreds of millions of dollars, yet the company remains heavily dependent on coal. To make matters worse, Tri-State’s member co-ops are locked into long-term contracts that require them to purchase at least 95 percent of their power from Tri-State, regardless of the cost.
Utility commissions can exercise their regulatory authority over Tri-State by determining if its rates and charges are “just and reasonable” in light of its actions.
Read the press release.
