3 Colorado co-ops may renegotiate with Tri-State instead of breaking up

In the jockeying for a new relationship between Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the rural cooperatives it supplies with electricity, three Colorado co-ops are seeking partial contracts with the power wholesaler — instead of leaving outright.

Tri-State and some of its cooperatives have been battling over the association’s long-term contract, which requires members to buy 95% of their electricity from the association, saying they are frustrated by the wholesaler’s high prices and dependence on coal-fired generation.

Two co-ops — the Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in Taos, New Mexico, and the Delta-Montrose Electric Association — have quit the group and Brighton-based United Power, Tri-State’s largest cooperative, is planning to join them.

The partial…