United Power’s Government and Regulatory Relations Officer, Troy Whitmore, testified Tuesday in front of the Colorado Senate Transportation and Energy Committee in support of a House bill concerning governance requirements for Colorado’s electric cooperatives. House Bill 21-1131 “Cooperative Electric Associations Governance Requirements” makes current laws regarding transparency and governance applicable to all non-profit electric associations.

“We were pleased to participate in a thorough stakeholder process with Representative Amabile regarding this bill for several months prior to introduction,” said Troy Whitmore, Government & Regulatory Relations Officer, during his testimony. “The United Power Board of Directors has taken a position of support on this bill.”

This bill represents modernization improvements for electric cooperatives in director elections and corresponding procedures, formal authorization of virtual technology use for Board and member meetings, and clear instruction on Board policies regarding compensation and disclosure of conflicts of interest.

“We have no issue with the posting of rate tariffs and other important policies on our website as we already publish this important information. We take great pride in transparently communicating with our membership and other interested parties,” said Whitmore. “Back in 2010, we worked closely with Representative Claire Levy on a similar bill which improved our director election procedures and member notifications. This bill, HB 1131, further improves the foundational work accomplished more than a decade ago.”

In 2010, United Power worked with state lawmakers to clarify election requirements for cooperatives, which allowed United Power to count more member ballots as valid. An aspect of the 2021 House bill allows the cooperative to hold more electronic communications and elections—which have greatly expanded access and popularity over the last year.

“As previously interpreted from State statute, electric cooperatives in Colorado were not able to hold electronic director elections,” said Whitmore. “The passage of this bill would allow our Board to consider offering the addition of electronic balloting to our members for cooperative elections.”

Tri-State Generation & Transmission Chief Executive Officer, Duane Highley, and Geoffrey Hier, Government Relations Director for the Colorado Rural Electric Association, also testified in favor of the bill. HB21-1131 passed unanimously in Senate committee on Tuesday and is headed to the Senate floor sometime in the next week.

Read the full testimony of Mr. Troy Whitmore. 

Read the full text of HB21-1131 and monitor the status.