Issues with Tri-State

1. Tri-State member-owners pay some of the highest electricity rates in Colorado. 2. Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan announced retirement of its coal at the Craig Power Station and the Escalante Power Station, but they still have two coal plants (half of their coal fleet) polluting Western communities in Arizona and Wyoming. Additionally, Tri-State says Craig Units 2 and 3 will retire by 2028, but a decade is too long for the costliest coal plant in the state to continue operating. 3. Tri-State co-ops are still paying the price for coal-fired electricity to be imported to their community from out-of-state when they could be saving money and investing in Colorado’s rural economies with local, clean energy. 4. Tri-State is a publicly owned utility, yet co-ops and member-owners (AKA utility customers) have limited access to information about Tri-State’s operations, finances, and planning. 5. Tri-State recently proposed plans to come into compliance with state regulations that require utilities to reduce their emissions by 80% by 2030, but 23% of that energy will still come from the most carbon-intensive and polluting source--coal.

1. Invest in local renewable energy generation that will stimulate local economic development in Colorado’s co-op communities, instead of importing expensive coal electricity from out of state. 2. Transition to low-cost clean energy that will help to lower rates and provide more affordable electricity to rural Colorado. 3. Make plans for a just transition off of coal in Colorado (Craig 2 and Craig 3) before 2030 and make plans for a just transition off of coal in Arizona (Springerville), and Wyoming (Laramie River Station). 4. Avoid new gas plants that will be more expensive to customers in the long run than clean energy and storage. 5. A transparent decision-making process that puts ratepayers, impacted communities, and impacted workers at the forefront of the conversation.