Allied organizations have included Sierra Club, Western Colorado Alliance, Tri-State G&T Reform, Western Resource Advocates and other environmental groups.
- Participated both in the multi-entity “Tri-State Reform” bi-monthly meetings and Sierra Club’s “Tri-Harder” monthly meetings. These meetings were essential to collaborating with other organizations also seeking to influence the outcome of Tri-State’s Phase-I 2020 Electric Resource Plan (ERP). The environmental organizations involved included non-profits and other Rural Electric Association (REA) members and board members. This resulted in an uncontested comprehensive settlement agreement amongst stakeholders which was reached on April 18, 2022. This was prior to the ERP going to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for approval.
- With Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” Unit, GVC³ helped organize, draft, select and ask questions of Tri-State G&T’s CEO Duane Highley at a Zoom Town Hall, February ’21.
- Attended and commented at monthly Gunnison County Electric Association (GCEA) board meetings, particularly during the Tri-State portions of these meetings.
- Regular dialog and email exchanges with Tri-State and GCEA board member Mark Daily, lobbying for a greener wholesale power supply from Tri-State.
- Before approving Tri-State’s ERP, the (PUC) opened a window of time for public comments. GVC³ sent out requests for our supporters to submit comments. Out of approximately half a million Colorado Tri-State customers, only 100 Coloradoans commented, and a disproportionate 48 of those were from members of GCEA in the Gunnison Valley, one of the smallest REAs serviced by Tri-State. With all of these above actions, GVC3 ultimately contributed to Tri-State’s vastly improved renewable energy portfolio of 50% renewables by 2025 and 70% by 2030.
To achieve this goal, the PUC is requiring Tri-State’s emissions reductions of 26% in 2025, 36% in 2026, 46% in 2027, and 80% by 2030 (in the State of Colorado) by 2030, relative to 2005. This is in line with the science-based targets determined by the IPCC’s Paris Accord in 2015 to limit warming below 1.5 degrees C of pre-Industrial CO2 levels. These emissions reductions being made by Tri-State have been lauded by climate organizations state-wide.
- Participated in Tri-State Reform discussions with other activist groups centered on the proposed federal infrastructure bill to economically support rural communities that lose fossil fuel jobs in the greening of Tri-State G&T’s energy portfolio.
