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Somewhere in the stack of bills and junk mail piled up with summer’s arrival is the ballot for Lower Valley Energy’s board of directors.

The deadline to submit ballots is 4 p.m. Thursday, which means they probably have to be mailed today or tomorrow or dropped off at Lower Valley’s Jackson office on Highway 89.

Two seats are up for grabs, with Denny Emory challenging incumbent Ted Ladd for one seat and three candidates, including incumbent Nancy Winters, vying for another. All cooperative members, i.e. anyone who receives a power bill, can vote for both seats.

Emory, who lives in Wilson, has advocated for a better pricing system for electricity, so that heavy residential users pay a higher service charge commensurate with their use. Average homeowners who use less power could see a reduction in the service charge, he said. The base charge for all residential users currently is $15 per month.

Anyone who submits a ballot will be entered in a drawing for five $100 prizes to be applied toward utility bills.

Update 6/29: Incumbents Ladd and Winters won re-election.

Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics

Tags: conservation, lower valley energy

Last summer, readers reacted angrily when Lower Valley Energy decided to hike electricity rates in winter, rather than charge more to the heaviest consumers of power. The cooperative later backed down from the plan, but at least one commenter asked to be informed when board members are up for re-election.

Here’s your heads-up. Lower Valley has two seats open this spring, including the District 4 seat held by part-time Wilson resident Ted Ladd. The other seat is District 3, which includes Hoback Junction, Alpine, Little Horsethief Canyon and points south. Nancy Winters of Star Valley is the incumbent.

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Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics

Tags: conservation, lower valley energy, oil and gas, revolution

Last week, amid constant reports about Gov. Matt Mead and Wyoming lawmakers having to cut the state budget because of the low price of natural gas, utility bills arrived from Lower Valley Energy. While using about the same amount of energy as last winter, I seemed to be paying slightly more for gas, which struck me as a disconnect.

Well, Lower Valley has caught up to the market changes. The cooperative has reduced its rate for natural gas by 12.9 percent, to $1.13 per therm, effective Feb. 1. LVE informs of the change in a letter residents should be receiving this week, spokesman Brian Tanabe said.

So, after a late cold spell pushed nighttime temperatures below -10 last week and sent heating bills rising, residents will get some relief.

The new rate still doesn’t match the nearly 70 percent drop in gas prices over the last four years, but pricing is complex, Lower Valley has to lock in advance supply contracts, and someone (not LVE, as a member-owned cooperative) has to make a gazillion dollars at our expense.

(Photo by David Stubbs)

Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: conservation, lower valley energy, oil and gas

In a small victory for the poorest Jackson Hole residents, Lower Valley Energy has dropped a plan to impose a significantly higher electricity rate in winter.

Instead, all residential users will pay 1 percent more year round, according to a News&Guide report.

Lower Valley’s board of directors had voted in June to create a new pricing system, in which residents would pay a higher rate for power during winter, when demand is greatest. The board opted not to charge more to the heaviest consumers of electricity, who drive up costs for the cooperative as a whole.

The decision sparked a sharp backlash. Among the hardest hit would have been low-income renters, who are more likely to be living in older, poorly insulated homes heated by electricity.

According to the News&Guide, Lower Valley reversed course because of continued uncertainty over how Bonneville Power Administration will price electricity it supplies to the cooperative. The board plans to revisit the rate structure next summer.

Mark your calendars once the date of Lower Valley‘s annual meeting is set next spring, and be sure to make your voices heard.

Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics

Tags: conservation, fat cats, lower valley energy, skids

Faced with rising electricity costs, Lower Valley Energy again has raised the rate for all residents, rather than charging more to the heaviest consumers of power.

This marks the second time in five years that Lower Valley has passed on higher costs to everyone, instead of raising rates for those who use the most electricity and thereby drive up the costs for the cooperative as a whole.

Lower Valley’s board of directors voted June 30 to charge a higher residential rate in winter. The rate will stay the same in summer, when there is less demand for electricity. The new rate will take effect in October.

The board dismissed another option for a tiered system, in which residents would pay a higher rate above a certain threshold for power consumption. Such a system would have created a strong financial incentive for conservation.

Now, the higher winter rate will fall on the shoulders of low-income residents who are more likely to be living in poorly insulated homes. Power hogs with heated driveways and large homes will pay the same rate as skids.

The tiered system would have mirrored the way Bonneville Power Administration charges Lower Valley for electricity. The cooperative must pay a higher rate for power above a certain quantity BPA provides.

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Posted under Economy, Environment, Politics

Tags: conservation, fat cats, lower valley energy, skids