Power Struggle Kris Holstrom copyright 1992 Kris Holstrom Telluride, Colorado Ð where stars and ski bums have come to mingle with regular folks enjoying one of the most beautiful mountain environments around. Many of the working class settled on nearby mesas. Hastings Mesa, sixteen miles from town, is home to an abundance of elk, deer, hawks and eagles, in addition to a group of people who are committed to living off the electric power grid. The Beginning Rumors began to circulate last fall regarding the imminent installation of power lines. Consistent information was difficult to obtain from the local power company so current and future residents of the mesa formed the Alternative Energy Alliance to deal with the company's line extension plans. Our desire is to keep commercial power off the mesa and allow Hastings Mesa to be a showcase of alternative energy options. We are the only mesa left in this region that can make the claim to being a solar community and we would dearly love to keep this status. We are opposed to the power line extension for environmental and economic reasons. The relative inaccessibility of the mesa has attracted environmentally aware, "pioneer" type people. We fear having "easy" commercial power available may bring in a different type of resident - one who may not care to think about the local and global degradation caused by coal-fired power plants Ð one who may not accept the responsibility to live in harmony with the earth. The Mesa Hastings Mesa can remain a unique alternative energy community where the beauty of the landscape is preserved while residents enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Already in place on the mesa are fully equipped homes powered by non-polluting photovoltaic and wind generating systems. If commercial power is available property values and subsequently property taxes will rise. As a result of this we fear current landowners may be forced into a financial bind where they cannot afford to keep or build on their chosen homesites. This would aggravate the already evident division between wealthy second homeowners and the working class trying to live near their place of employment. While the current political climate in this county favors maintaining 35 acre lots, this could change. The ability to hook to the grid could increase pressure to subdivide the mesa into smaller and smaller parcels. The Plan Rather than wait until the power company presented us with a fait accompli, we began a media campaign and sent out a letter and questionaire to all landowners on our mesa. Out of 285 questionaires sent we received 118 responses. Of these only 10 wanted commercial power. Many people indicated that they would be very upset to see power lines or commercial power available on the mesa. The media campaign began to get others interested in our situation and alerted the power company they had substantial opposition. The power company sent out their own questionaire and subsequently stated 166 lots desired power with only 65 negative responses. Developers who owned large parcels were responsible for many of these "lot" requests. The Meeting The power company met with us and other area residents to explain their policies and procedures. A company spokesman described each step in the planning process. After a needs survey is accomplished, alternatives, including keeping an area off the grid, are developed. Engineering and environmental evaluations of each of the alternative routes are done. Area landowners and pertinent agencies, such as the Division of Wildlife, BLM and Forest Service are contacted. A first draft of a Basic Environmental Report (BER) is completed as required by the Rural Electrification Association (who lends the local power company money). The BER, the spokesman noted is required even if no money is to be borrowed for the project. The next step in the process is to hold a public information meeting. The alternatives must comply with county land use codes and a final BER completed prior to presenting the project to the power company board and REA for approval. Once approval is obtained engineering costs and easements are collected, surveying and staking can occur. Prior to construction of a line pre-construction contacts are made with affected landowners and construction easements are obtained. Then the project is built, followed by mitigation of any construction impact, according to the spokesman. After outlining their procedures the spokesman "set the record straight" regarding their plans for the mesa. He told us they had "no plans" for a line extension, but must react to several requests for power they had received. He denied that the power line extension could go through simply to meet demand by a large developer on another mesa. The power company has shown a degree of sympathy for our position and have referred some people to a solar power company for further information, but due to misinformation received early on trust in the power company is fragile, at best. The Present At this point in time they are contacting those who indicated a desire for grid power and are proceeding with investigating various routes in two areas on the mesa. The difficulty of our situation is the fact that if just one individual is able to obtain the necessary easements and pay the costs, the power line will go in. Our approach to solving this problem is through education. We are currently contacting people who have requested power to advise them of the costs and benefits of alternative power options. The economic argument is strongly in our favor. The power company has estimated costs of putting in underground lines at $50,000 to $100,000 per mile. These costs must be borne by those requesting power. While future hook ups would share in the cost, many mesa landowners are committed to staying off the consumers who would be paying the bill. Options The alternative Energy Alliance is also putting together a packet of information and examples of alternative energy options for local realtors. We want to encourage them to sell to solar savvy clients and environmentally concerned individuals. Our hope is to attract people to live on the mesa who are willing to take responsibility for the impact of their energy needs. Good News Our fight to keep the power lines off Hastings Mesa has brought us together as neighbors. We have a common purpose, but do not know if we will ultimately be successful in maintaining our fledgling solar community. We would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone out there who may have helpful or encouraging information or ideas. Access Kris Holstrom, POB 896, Telluride, CO 81435 Alternative Energy Alliance, POB 346, Placerville, CO 81430 ADD PHONE NUMBER