Tri-State to refund $30 million in patronage capital to members for 2020
- Patronage capital refunds total more than $130 million in last five years, showing significant benefits of Tri-State membership and strength of the cooperative business model.
- Tri-State notes wholesale rates for its members will not change in 2021, marking the fifth straight year wholesale rates have remained unchanged.
- Board sets goal to reduce wholesale rates to members by 8% by the end of 2023.
(December 3, 2020 – Westminster, Colo.) – In a decision that once again showed the benefits of cooperative membership, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s board of directors today approved the return of $30 million in patronage capital refunds for 2020 to its members.
Patronage capital represents each member’s ownership and investment in Tri-State, and is an accumulation over the years of the net margins earned by and allocated to those members. Including 2020, Tri-State has returned $130 million to its members over the past five years.
“The return of patronage capital truly represents the strength of the cooperative business model and the benefits of belonging to Tri-State. This refund provides a significant return of investment and inflow of cash for our members, strengthening their balance sheets and contributing to their overall financial strength,” said Rick Gordon, chair of the Tri-State board and director of the Mountain View Electric Association in Limon, Colo.
In early October, Tri-State’s board of directors also approved the power supply cooperative’s 2021 budget, with no proposed wholesale rate change. Tri-State continues to provide long-term rate certainty for its 42 utility members in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and New Mexico. Tri-State noted that wholesale rates for utility members would not change for the fifth year in a row.
Also in October 2020, Tri-State's board of directors announced a goal to reduce its wholesale rates to members by 8% by the end of 2023.
Tri-State’s wholesale rates provide for the long-term, firm delivery of power to the cooperative’s members. The wholesale rate includes all of the services required for delivering power, including energy, capacity, ancillary services, transmission, and a wide range of other products and services.
Tri-State board sets budgets, and rates are set annually for power and services to the cooperative’s utility members. Tri-State is subject to wholesale rate regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), similar to other wholesale power suppliers nationwide.
“Our efforts to maintain stable rates and control costs, even during the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, upholds our mission of providing a reliable, affordable and responsible supply of electricity, in accordance with cooperative principles,” Gordon said.
About Tri-State
Tri-State is a not-for-profit cooperative of 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.
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Contact:
Lee Boughey, 303-254-3555, lboughey@tristategt.org
Mark Stutz, 303-254-3183, mstutz@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.