From Conifer to Parker to Deer Trail, a quiet coup is taking shape that could dramatically change the power structure of one of the largest power providers in Colorado.
At issue is the future of the Intermountain Rural Electric Association, a cooperative that provides electricity to more than 130,000 members in the suburbs and exurbs west, south and east of Denver. The current IREA leaders, many of whom have been in place for decades, are famously opposed to renewable-energy requirements and energy-efficiency mandates, while just as famous for their relentless commitment to keeping costs low at any cost.
But now a trio of candidates with reform on their minds are out to upend that power structure in a board-of-directors election that concludes this month, arguing that it is time IREA looks to a future with more renewable energy and less coal-fired power. If all three win their races, reformers would hold the majority of seats on IREA’s seven-member board.
“I think people are thinking IREA hasn’t been very forward-looking,” said Mike Galvin, a Woodland Park resident who is one of the three men challenging incumbent board members. “They’ve put all their eggs in the coal basket.”
Meanwhile, a bill making its way through the legislature also takes direct aim at the co-op’s current leaders by requiring IREA to invest in energy-efficiency programs in the same way Xcel Energy, the state’s largest power provider, is already required to. The bill, House Bill 1323, passed its first committee hearing Tuesday.
In the midst of this cannonade, IREA’s leaders have defiantly argued renewable energy is too expensive and efficiency mandates push extra costs onto consumers. They point to IREA’s rates, which once went 20 years without being increased and are still the second-lowest of any co-op in the state.
“We just think they (renewables) have a long way to go before they can be cost-effective,” said Gene Sperry, a 20-year board veteran being challenged by Galvin. “We’re all about keeping the rates as low as possible and delivering good quality of service.”
The challengers say the issue is as much about IREA’s culture as its policies. They say the co-op shuts out dissenting voices and makes it nearly impossible for critics to find out what the co-op’s board is up to.
They point to the most recent edition of the co-op’s newsletter, which has no mention of the current election but does contain a three-page article arguing against a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions.
“A lot of people don’t even realize what a co-op is and that you have an elected representative,” said Mike Kempe, the lone board member backed by the reformist group IREA Voices.
Stan Lewandowski, IREA’s general manager for the past 35 years, said IREA Voices has been dishonest in its criticism and said he would resign if the board challengers swept the election. He said most of co-op members support the current leadership’s policies.
