Tipton fights group to keep energy costs low

RBC I U.S. Rep. Tipton (R-CO) reported recently that a radical litigation group is attempting to manipulate the marketplace and drive up electricity costs for rural Colorado families.
During a House Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee oversight hearing, Tipton raised concerns over a recent letter addressed to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) by Wild Earth Guardians, demanding that WAPA force its customers to prioritize certain sources of energy over others.
“The Wild Earth Guardians letter, which reads like a blueprint for a lawsuit, demands that WAPA force non-federal entities to take up the Wild Earth Guardians’ agenda at rate-payer expense and in derogation of their goals and WAPA’s core mission, which is to provide low cost energy,” Tipton said. “This litigation threat letter singles out certain rural electric cooperatives which provide power to thousands of homes and businesses in the 3rd District of Colorado, and specifically targets the Craig Generating Station.
“Put bluntly, Wild Earth Guardians asks that WAPA stop approving power sales to entities that continue to provide low-cost, reduced-emission energy from the Craig Station in my district,” he said. “This is market manipulation at its worst and it calls on rural families and small businesses to pay the tab for Wild Earth Guardians’ unfounded demands.”
The Craig Generating Station on the Western Slope of Colorado provides more than 300 jobs and produces reliable, low-cost energy for families and small businesses.
WAPA Administrator Mark Gabriel testified that the legal threats made in the Wild Earth Guardians letter “certainly could” threaten the availability of affordable energy for families already struggling to pay the bills in the region.
Tipton stressed that “keeping energy costs low helps small businesses, struggling young families and senior citizens on fixed incomes.”