Mountain Parks Electric provides notice to withdraw from Tri-State membership
- Member-led efforts to increase contract flexibility includes options for a member to transition to partial requirements members or to terminate its power supply contract.
- Mountain Parks Electric, which accounts for approximately 2% of Tri-State’s member sales, previously participated in Tri-State’s open season for partial requirements membership.
- Contract termination tariff on file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) allows a member to withdraw from membership, and pay a contract termination payment that would leave remaining members and Tri-State unharmed.
- Tri-State’s Responsible Energy Plan is advancing a reliable and affordable clean energy transition.
(January 17, 2023 – Westminster, Colo.) Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association has been provided notice by Mountain Parks Electric that the distribution cooperative intends to withdraw from membership in Tri-State as of Jan. 15, 2025. As part of its Responsible Energy Plan clean energy transition, Tri-State developed a tariff to implement the early termination of a member’s wholesale power contract, prior to its expiration in 2050.
“Tri-State will work with Mountain Parks Electric through the contract termination process to support an orderly withdrawal,” said Duane Highley, CEO of Tri-State. “We remain committed to advance solutions for our members who desire greater flexibility in their wholesale power supply.”
Mountain Parks Electric represents approximately 2% of Tri-State’s load. Mountain Parks Electric had previously requested to transition to a partial requirements membership through an open season for partial requirements supply, and was allocated 20-megawatts of self-supply capacity.
Tri-State’s members developed a contract termination payment (CTP) tariff, which was accepted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and became effective Nov. 1, 2021. The CTP tariff sets forth the terms and conditions under which Tri-State utility members may terminate their Wholesale Electric Service Contracts and membership in Tri-State. The CTP tariff ensures that remaining Tri-State members and Tri-State are held harmless if another member decides to terminate its contract early.
The CTP tariff includes requirements for a two-year notice and the payment of a contract termination payment. Tri-State’s CTP tariff has been accepted by the FERC, subject to refund, and following hearings on the tariff, an initial decision was issued from the administrative law judge hearing the case. FERC has yet to issue an order on the tariff, and a decision is expected later this year.
“The contract termination tariff on file with FERC ensures that any utility member’s withdrawal does not harm the remaining members of our cooperative or Tri-State,” Highley said. “Tri-State will continue to work through the FERC process to ensure the CTP tariff protects remaining members from harm if a member desires to terminate its contract early.”
Tri-State is rapidly transitioning to clean energy and providing more value to its members through its member-developed Responsible Energy Plan. Notable progress includes:
- By 2025, Tri-State forecasts that 50% of the electricity used by its members will come from clean sources, increasing to 70% by 2030.
- In Colorado, Tri-State targets an 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 from a 2005 baseline.
- Tri-State’s rates have been stable since 2017, and in March 2021, Tri-State initiated a 4% wholesale rate reduction that was fully implemented in March 2022.
“Though our clean energy transition, our members will have among the cleanest, lowest emissions energy portfolios in the nation, even as their not-for-profit power supply remains resilient, affordable and flexible,” Highley said.
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About Tri-State
Tri-State is a wholesale power supply cooperative, operating on a not-for-profit basis, with 45 members, including 42 utility electric distribution cooperative and public power district members in four states that together deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to more than a million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. For more information about Tri-State, visit www.tristate.coop.
Contact:
Lee Boughey, 303-254-3555, lboughey@tristategt.org
Certain information contained in this press statement are forward-looking statements including statements concerning Tri-State’s plans, future events, and other information that is not historical information. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described from time to time in Tri-State’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tri-State’s expectations and beliefs are expressed in good faith, and Tri-State believes there is a reasonable basis for them. However, Tri-State cannot assure you that management’s expectations and beliefs will be achieved. There are a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein.