More transparency and strong governing standards for utilities across Colorado
A majority of rural Coloradans receive electricity from publicly owned electric cooperatives. These co-ops are owned, funded and governed by the very member-owners who rely on them for their power.
The decisions these electric cooperative boards make affect the lives, health, and pocketbooks of the Coloradans that own and rely on them for energy.
Unfortunately, across the state the rules electric co-ops have in place for making decisions -- from how open and transparent public meetings are to the election processes and who has access to the basic information needed to run for your co-op board -- have been inconsistent.
Just like your local city council or board of trustees, elections need to be open and transparent for anyone who wants to run and governing decisions need to be made in ways that foster and encourage participation among its members.
Not only does this undermine participation but it can create roadblocks for the community to ensure their utility is moving toward a cleaner, healthier, more affordable energy future.
In 2021, Senators Faith Winter and Don Coram, and Representatives Judy Amabile and Marc Catlin led the charge to pass HB21-1131 and create a set of basic good governance and transparency benchmarks for all electric cooperatives to meet. Some of these good governance rules extend to the entities that provide coops with power (sometimes called generation and transmission associations -- Tri-State is an example --, which might sign a long-term power contract with local coops and wind up limiting efforts to move towards renewable energy).
Signed into law by Governor Polis, the bill brings clarity and modernizes election procedures to ensure all members can participate in board elections both by running and/or voting. It also increases transparency around compensation practices and conflict of interest policies for board members, public meeting notices and minutes, rates and net metering requirements.
As more Colorado utility customers call for more sustainable energy, both environmentally and economically, these policies will help ensure cleaner, affordable energy is a growing part of their future.
While these good governance reforms were a big step forward, the legislature did miss an opportunity to fully empower Colorado’s Utility Consumer Advocate to watchdog its implementation.
As I said earlier, the Utility Consumer Advocate (formerly OCC) has the expertise in the utility space that most consumers lack but their mandate is mostly limited to the PUC. They could serve a similar watchdog role around rural coops as they do at the PUC to ensure proper implementation of these good governance measures.
After last February’s extreme cold and the surcharges that were passed on to rural Coloradans, there may also be a role for the Utility Consumer Advocate to be helpful in protecting western slope consumers from price spikes.
This year we can celebrate some major steps forward in Colorado to reauthorize and strengthen consumer protections in the utility space and help people secure a cleaner energy future for their communities. As we look to the future, we should be aware that additional measures may help maximize the benefits that can come from open, transparent utility decisions and an empowered voice for consumers in more of the spaces where energy decisions are made.
