Tri-State board officers elected following 2016 Annual Meeting
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the not-for-profit wholesale power supplier to 44 member electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming, held its 64th annual meeting in Broomfield, Colo., on April 6, 2016. Approximately 490 electric cooperative representatives and industry officials attended the meeting to review the association's performance and discuss the issues facing the electric utility industry.
This year's annual meeting highlighted the significant progress made in 2015 to bolster member relations within the association. In 2015, the association's membership completed work to review the association's wholesale contracts and set a new wholesale rate design, which became effective January 1, 2016. These issues are fundamental to the way Tri-State's members work together within the association
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead spoke at the annual meeting and discussed the regulatory challenges for coal-based electricity. Governor Mead thanked Tri-State's membership for their support of technology development and a $5 million commitment to the state's Integrated Test Center, which seeks solutions to carbon management and will host the coal portion of the $20 million Carbon XPRIZE competition.
Following the annual meeting, the executive committee of the association's board of directors was seated, including the six officers and three at-large positions. Under the cooperative business model, Tri-State's board is made up of one representative from each of its member systems, serving as the democratically-elected governing body of the association.
Rick Gordon, representing Tri-State member co-op Mountain View Electric Association (Limon, Colo.), was reelected chairman for a seventh consecutive term. Gordon originally joined Tri-State's board in 1994 and served as vice chairman for 13 years prior to first being elected chairman in 2010. He has served on Mountain View's board since 1992.
Joe Wheeling, representing La Plata Electric Association (Durango, Colo.), was elected vice chairman, after havingserved in an at-large executive committee position. Wheeling was elected to the La Plata board of directors in 2008 and joined Tri-State's board of directors in 2010.
Leo Brekel, representing Highline Electric Association (Holyoke, Colo.) since 2003 was reelected to the position of secretary. Stuart Morgan, who has represented Wheat Belt Public Power District (Sidney, Neb.) on the Tri-State board since 2007, was reelected treasurer - a position he first assumed in 2012.
Matt Brown, who has represented High Plains Power (Riverton, Wyo.) on the Tri-State board since 2010, was reelected to the assistant secretary position for his fourth term. Julie Kilty, who has represented Wyrulec Company (Torrington, Wyo.) on the Tri-State board since 2012, was elected to the second assistant secretary position for her second term.
The executive committee's three at-large positions are being filled by incumbents Bill Mollenkopf representing Empire Electric Association (Cortez, Colo.), and newly elected members Hal Keeler representing Columbus Electric Cooperative (Deming, N.M.) and Tim Rabon representing Otero County Electric Cooperative (Cloudcroft, N.M.).