I am honored to be the new Chief Executive Officer at Sangre de Cristo Electric Association. I have worked for electric cooperatives for more than 29 years in various roles, both at the power supply level and the distribution cooperative level. I am joining SDCEA at an important time in the utility industry. The saying “We live in interesting times” certainly applies to the energy industry as we embark on a monumental energy transition in this country.
The shift away from central-station baseload power plants that were built decades ago and are typically fueled by coal is a major challenge facing our industry. Many of these power plants are reaching the expected retirement age or need expensive upgrades to extend their lives and utilities are not willing to make these changes for a variety of reasons. In some cases, these retirements occur for environmental benefits.
The question becomes: How do we affordably replace thousands of megawatts of baseload generation while maintaining the grid’s reliability? We are seeing coal plant retirements starting, and large investments in wind and solar energy increasing.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, SDCEA’s wholesale power supplier, is leading the way in this transition. By the end of 2025, Tri-State’s energy portfolio will include more than 2,000 megawatts of clean renewable energy. Half of the energy purchased by SDCEA and supplied to you, our member-owners, will be supplied by renewable resources by the end of 2025. These investments will allow Tri-State and its membership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2005 levels by 2030.
Why is this transition important to SDCEA? The largest portion of SDCEA’s annual expenses is its wholesale power bill from Tri-State, and a large portion of a member-owner’s bill at SDCEA is related to power cost. Therefore, how the costs of this transition are managed will impact SDCEA and our member-owners for decades to come.
To date, Tri-State has done a good job managing the costs of this transition. However, 2025 is an important milestone in Tri-State’s energy transition as the retirement of its largest baseload resource located in Craig, Colorado, begins. As this multi-year retirement begins, Tri-State is planning for its next baseload resource.
As Tri-State plans its new baseload resource and continues to expand transmission facilities to serve its member cooperatives, the costs to build these assets are increasing and upward rate pressure will follow.
For us at SDCEA, keeping electric bills reasonable is a top priority, as we stand for you, our member. Every day, we focus on managing energy delivery costs to ensure affordability. We have a seat on the Tri-State Board of Directors where we represent your interests directly to the wholesale power supplier. This ensures your voice is heard and prioritized as SDCEA’s power supply evolves. We are committed to advocating for your needs and for keeping cost management at the heart of providing service to you.
As these discussions about the energy transition continue and we learn more about our future power costs, we are committed to keeping you, our members, informed.
John Byers is the CEO of Sangre de Cristo Electric Association. SDCEA’s mission is to safely provide reliable electric energy and services to power the lives of our members and our communities.
