The San Miguel Power Association is an electric co-operative that powers a big swath of Colorado, lighting homes in seven Western Slope counties.
Late this summer, the SMPA board hired a company to conduct a survey to see what its members think about their power, and where they want the co-op to head in the future.
The results are in, and they’re overwhelmingly green.
Some 91 percent of respondents strongly favored energy efficiency programs; 62 percent said they feel global warming is a serious issue and 76 percent said SMPA should go beyond the state requirements and invest in additional renewable projects.
However, while 77 percent said it’s important that SMPA uses renewable energy sources that currently cost more in the future, fewer respondents — 55 percent — said they would be willing to pay higher bills in order to invest in additional renewable projects. Considerably fewer members (about one in 10) actually participate in SMPA’s Green Blocks program, and 45 percent of respondents don’t support any rate increase.
General manager Kevin Ritter said the discrepancy between support for renewables and support for paying higher rates isn’t a surprise.
“We think that’s a typical result,” Ritter said.
Wes Perrin, SMPA board president, agreed.
“People want renewable energy. When you ask how much they are willing to pay, the numbers start to slip,” he said. “People don’t want to pay a lot individually, they want everyone to pay a little.”
What was surprising, Perrin said, was that the support for renewables and energy efficient programs was nearly the same across the board.
“We found positive results in all areas of our service territory,” he said.
Other noteworthy results of the survey:
• Members indicated high overall satisfaction with the company, with 87 percent saying they are somewhat or very satisfied.
• Company loyalty appears high as well — 81 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t switch to another company for a 5-15 percent lower bill.
• 45 percent of respondents said they are interested in using 100 percent renewable energy at an added $4-$5 a month. But only 30 percent are interested in an extra $3 to $4 a month for SMPA to fund rebates for local renewable projects.
• About 6 in 10 respondents said they have taken steps in the last year to reduce their electric uses, mostly by low-cost measures.
• About half of members support a nuclear generation effort by Tri-State Generation (the utility supplier SMPA buys electricity from).
The survey, conducted by Inside Information, Inc., out of Smithville, Mo., took place this fall. Questioners collected responses from some 300 randomly selected members over the phone. Respondents were dispersed through the SMPA service area, the median age was 55 and respondents showed high levels of post-high school education.
Perrin said the idea behind conducting the survey was to gauge the attitudes of SMPA’s members.
“The rural electric cooperative world has changed,” he said. “The idea was … ‘let’s go find our who our members are and what they want.’”
Perrin said these results won’t trigger wholesale changes within the co-op, but the board will fold them into its strategic plan, its policies and actions in the future.
“Our members own us, this is their voice, so we’re going to listen to their voice. This is going to be on our table and in our minds,” he said.
However, Perrin noted that he thinks no matter what SMPA does, the cost of energy is going to rise. And so it’s up to SMPA, he says, to implement energy efficiency and conservation programs to help customers offset those costs.
“The era of cheap energy is over,” he said. “The best thing we can do is help our members conserve their energy.”
Ritter ticked off a long list of programs and pilot programs SMPA has that deal with energy efficiency and renewable projects, from partnering with the New Community Coalition on projects to donating LED holiday lights to the town.
“On the whole, we’re doing a lot,” he said. “Overall I would say that SMPA and SMPA’s board is committed to responding to the members and moving in that direction, moving toward renewables and energy efficiency.”
