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June 05, 2013 12:37 PM UTC

Reporters should look for meat behind accusations of a war on rural Colorado, after Hick signs renewable energy bill

  • 4 Comments
  • by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

This afternoon Hick will sign a bill setting a state standard for the amount of electricity rural electricity associations must produce from renewable sources, like wind and solar, according to Fox 31's Eli Stokols.

Judging from past coverage, Republican opponents of the bill will try to cast it as an attack on rural Colorado.

When Rep. Jared Wright tried to do this back in April, the Grand Junction Sentinel's Charles Ashby pointed out that the Rural Electricity Association in his area supported the renewable-standard bill (SB 252).

So reporters should check for meat behind accusations of an Democratic attack on the ranchers and others in rural counties, if those accusations start flying again today. 

Evidence of meatlessness and manipulation by those claiming "war on rural Colorado" can be found in an article about SB 252 in the news letter of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union's May "Legis Letter." The bill was vehemently opposed by a large electricity association called Tri-State Generation and Transmission. Here's an excerpt from the May RMFU newsletter:

Tri-State and the rural electric family chose to draw a line in the sand, and now we are stuck with goals that may be a challenge to achieve. By refusing to listen to RMFU and other rural and agricultural groups looking for a reasonable compromise, Tri-State only managed one achievement: driving a new wedge between rural and urban Coloradoans.

In the run up to the vote on SB 252, industry “pundits” were predicting the end of civilization: Unemployment in rural communities will double! Rural utility customers will be bankrupted! Urban Colorado declares war on rural Colorado!

Ag groups were caught in the middle, trying to get both sides to listen rather than shout slogans. On the one hand, we don’t want to see rural communities hurt by utility costs; on the other, the sky was not, in spite of what was being shouted, falling. Urban Colorado is working toward a much higher portfolio standard than rural Colorado. They don’t see why that’s fair, and the answer is more complicated than most people understand. But that’s not warfare; it’s a time to talk over our differences. [BigMedia emphasis]

The newsletter quoted Rocky Mountain Farmers Union President Kent Peppler, who criticized the uncompromising opposition to SB252. RMFU was neutral on the bill, even though its Renewable Energy Chair sits on the Tri-State Board.

Here's Peppler's quote in the RMFU newsletter:

“The lesson in this legislative setback,” said RMFU President Kent Peppler, “is that ‘My way or the highway’ only works if you have the votes. The REAs didn’t have the votes, and ignoring their agricultural constituents and potential allies didn’t help that problem. Going down in flames may be noble, but it doesn’t get the job done. Now the real work has to begin. The last thing we should let this do is poison our commitment to renewables. Homegrown power is coming of age for communities, individuals, and facilities. The demand for renewables means new opportunities for rural communities, new jobs for rural communities, and new businesses keeping our rural communities alive.” [BigMedia emphasis]

Comments

4 thoughts on “Reporters should look for meat behind accusations of a war on rural Colorado, after Hick signs renewable energy bill

  1. An excerpt from the Colorado Senate Republicans' news release:

    Hickenlooper Signs Measure to Raise Utility Rates on Rural Colorado
    Denver– Today Governor Hickenlooper signed Senate Bill 252, a measure that increases utility rates on working families across the state by mandating that customer-owned rural cooperatives and utilities increase their renewable energy standard when they can least afford it.

    Senate Republicans expressed outrage at what they view as another assault on rural Colorado. Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said, “Senate President John Morse initiated the urban attack on rural Colorado when he sponsored SB 13-252. With his signature, Governor Hickenlooper joins Morse in perhaps the largest unfunded government mandate in Colorado history.”

    He went on to say, “In addition to disregarding the bipartisan opposition to this legislation, the Governor is ignoring the common interests of Coloradans in favor of special interests of extremists. Colorado families, businesses owners, farmers and ranchers will now be on the hook for billions of dollars in increased utility rates. Additionally, all government entities — municipalities, school districts, fire departments — will now face unnecessary rate increases.”

    Senator Greg Brophy, R-Wray, added, “Here is another example of the Democrats’ callous attitude toward the families in rural Colorado who are struggling to make ends meet. Utility bills will now increase on the very people who can least afford it.”

    Senator Steve King, R-Grand Junction, said, “Senate Bill 252 will directly impact people on fixed incomes in rural areas who are just barely hanging on in this economy. I am very disappointed that Governor Hickenlooper would sign yet another measure that only gained bipartisan opposition and puts seniors at risk.”

    1. Perhaps a history lesson for Senator Brophy would be useful.  Tri-State raised it's wholesale rates to its member coops 168% between the years 1997-2012. That's an average of over 10% annually. I heard narely a peep from the members.  And the business-as-usual case for Tri-State appears to be buying power from a yet-to-be constructed coal plant in Kansas – at a cost that anyone would agree will exceed the cost of both natural gas and wind. 

      I have heard my Senator make mostly false claims about the increased costs in our own hometown.  One tweet claimed that SB252 would raise the costs of power to the Wray School District by $30,000/yr.  Perhaps he forgot that the Wray School District OWNS it's own wind turbine and has levelized costs of power for the next two decades.  And the City of Wray recently moved it's power supplier from the local rural electric to to MEAN [Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska]. 

      He has also mentioned that this will increase the costs of power for irrigators by $2,000 per circle per year.  Irrigators in our district consume an average of 1,000 kw/hrs/acre/year with corn.  At an average cost of 10.24 cents per kilowatt hour from the local coop times an average acreage of 130 acres per pivot times the 2% rate cap – and you get $266.24 cents per pivot, not $2,000.  But he has conveniently forgotten that the very farmers he claims will be damaged are also the same farmers in his district that have received over $3.64 billion – yes, with a 'b' – in ag subsidies thanks to the federal farm policy – which is funded in large part by those dreaded special interest, urban dwelling people he loves to hate. [this data is taken from Colorado's 4th Congressional District which is mirrors closely the boundaries of Brophy's senate district].  The county the Senator and I both call home is no slouch in federal transfers.  $537 million in our county alone since 1995.

      It's well past time for these rural leaders to start recognizing they are part of a 'system'.  They are not an independent entity.  The sooner they start acting in good faith, the better off we'll be in rural Colorado.

  2. My God these people need new talking points.  And by 'new' I mean 'relevant'. As I've stated before, the real war on rural Colorado isn't the Governor, the Democrats or those dreaded 'special interest' groups – it's a Kansas coal plant

    And you won't find any red meat anywhere.  You'll be lucky to find a small, coughed-up hair ball behind the curtain, ala Wizard of OZ.  It would be a better idea for the Republicans to channel their outrage into something useful that brings lasting opportunities to their rural constituents.  Kent Peppler couldn't have described the rural issue any better:  when your idea of playing ball or collaborating with your fellow legislators is a 'hell no' or a 'middle finger' – you aren't going to like the outcome.  This political challenge that faces rural Colorado is being exasperated by an absolute collapse of leadership.  We are making ourselves more politically irrelevant by the day.

    Rural Colorado doesn't get the luxury of living as in independent 'state within a state'.  They aren't independent, they are interdependent.  This faux outrage would be laughable if it wasn't so truly sad.

  3. Perhaps what these rural Coloradoans is start voting out these "my way or the highway" folks from office.  Maybe if they elected some good conservative Democrats (of whom there are many in rural areas) they might have a voice at the table and be more effective.

     

    For me, until that time, I say they get what they elected and now they have to live with it.  Don't ask the 85% of the public who lives in the 11 largest counties to give up what we voted for.  This ain't the US Senate where all you little counties get veto power over everything.

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