As leadership for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Colorado Rural Electric Association (CREA), our electric co-op members have the privilege of serving one in five Coloradans in some of the most beautiful, rural and untouched regions of the state. As not-for-profit electric cooperatives, or “co-ops”, our members are locally owned and governed.

In this role, Colorado’s electric co-ops fuel growth, create jobs, steward our natural resources and power the lives and economies in nearly 70% of Colorado’s land mass. Without co-ops electrifying rural Colorado, many of our local economies could not exist, and so we take our responsibility to deliver affordable and reliable energy to rural Coloradans very seriously.

The co-op model is led by the co-op members, not by shareholders, and co-op profits are shared back with the members. As such, electric co-ops are wholly invested in their communities, which is why they stand with their membership and share both risk and reward. One rapidly growing risk in many co-op communities is the serious threat of wildfire.

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Colorado’s electric co-ops own and operate thousands of miles of local distribution and larger transmission lines across Colorado, with many of those lines running through national forests and parks, powering homes and businesses across the state. As part of the co-op commitment and obligation to these communities, co-ops consistently inspect and update these lines and substations to ensure they are in good working order and do extensive work to reduce risks near power lines.

Because each part of our state is unique, co-ops focus on finding individualized solutions to enhance wildfire resilience. In addition to the thousands of man-hours spent each year managing vegetation to enhance safety around co-op lines, co-ops are testing out cutting-edge strategies such as satellite and drone monitoring as well as conducting visual inspections of assets to monitor dangers.

Co-ops are dedicated to the safety and well-being of the communities they serve and are at the forefront of reducing the risk of wildfire by taking measures that ensure their infrastructure is not the origin or contributing factor for a wildfire. However, no risk can be completely mitigated, and electric co-ops need protections to best serve rural communities.

The reality is the number of wildfires has more than doubled in Colorado in the past 20 years. Due to this growing threat, many electric co-ops are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain adequate wildfire insurance. Insurance coverage for wildfires has been decreasing in recent years, meaning your local electric utility could be underinsured in the case of a major wildfire–jeopardizing co-ops’ ability to serve rural communities. In some instances, insurance policies have been offered at twice the cost for half the previous coverage, creating a burden on co-ops and their members as rate increases compound the affordability crisis in our state.

Despite the extensive wildfire mitigation efforts and the precautionary measures co-ops take to protect Colorado communities, wildfires may still occur in their service territories. Should a fire be unintentionally caused by a co-op’s infrastructure, despite their best efforts to protect communities, there is even the risk of a co-op’s bankruptcy. If a co-op had to declare bankruptcy following wildfire claims, it could potentially leave countless families, businesses, hospitals and schools in the dark. To continue providing affordable, reliable energy, co-ops need some level of liability protection from uninsurable wildfire risks.

As co-ops responsibly create wildfire mitigation plans based on national best practices, co-ops need liability protections. These liability limitations would allow co-ops and insurance companies to better manage the risks, with the goal of ensuring more adequate and comprehensive coverage.

We are thankful to Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper for his bipartisian effort just introduced to begin addressing some of our country’s wildfire challenges at the federal level. Additionally, we appreciate the support of Colorado legislators to help electric co-ops respond to this very real issue and taking steps to address this problem. Though current legislation moving through the legislature does not provide relief to electric co-ops, we can promise lawmakers — and most importantly co-op members — that both CREA and Tri-State are working on solutions to protect our rural economies and communities, and help co-ops provide safe, affordable and reliable electricity for decades to come.

Kent Singer is executive director of Colorado Rural Electric Association representing 21 electric cooperatives in Colorado. Duane Highley is chief executive of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a not-for-profit wholesale cooperative power supplier to 40 utility members across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.