Last year, we partnered with Sagebrush Ltd to facilitate a series of focus groups to better understand your thoughts and concerns on the future of our power supply. Our aim was not just to listen but to foster an inclusive environment where all opinions could help shape our trajectory. We'd like to thank those who participated—your feedback and insights were greatly appreciated and we look forward to more opportunities to collaborate with our community. 

These sessions were designed to:  

• Collect stories and facilitate discussions to better understand member perspectives. 
• Gather diverse viewpoints on the future of LPEA’s energy supply. 
• Provide a platform for members to share their thoughts and ensure their voices are considered in the decision-making process. 

All members were invited to join in and a total of 41 residential members and staff participated across six sessions, with two held in Pagosa, two in Durango, one virtually, and one with LPEA staff only. These sessions occurred at different times and locations to accommodate the various schedules and geographic locations of our members within the service area. 

Sagebrush Ltd. used a facilitation approach that actively encouraged all voices to be heard, welcomed divergent opinions, and emphasized solutions over challenges. We believe that fostering open dialogue leads to better outcomes for our community. 

Here are a few key takeaways we gleaned from these sessions:  

1. Members want to feel confident that their lights will stay on through the transition.  
2. Members who participated ranked the four factors affecting our future portfolio design in the following order of priority:  
   - Environmental Sustainability/Friendliness
   - Affordability 
   - Reliability 
   - Local Generation 
3. While many support environmental goals, members are still very concerned about transparency, costs and implementation.  
4. The buyout cost is a major worry, particularly as it may relate to rate impacts on fixed-income residents. 
5. Communication emerged as a fundamental issue, with both members and staff finding LPEA’s messaging oversimplified.
6. There was also a notable demographic skew among participants (75% or participants being 55+ years old) indicating a need for broader community engagement.  
7. Members appreciated the Focus Group sessions and it is clear that more such opportunities for open dialogue would be welcomed. 

Want to see more? Take a look at the full results deck linked below, keeping in mind that : 

1. The opinions in these results are those of the 41 members who participated.  
2. Any numbers or statements reflected in these slides are those of the focus group participants and don’t necessarily reflect accurate information regarding LPEA.  

View the full results 👉 here.

 If you were unable to participate for any reason, keep an eye out for more opportunities and don’t forget to join in on our monthly Board Meetings where we give updates, discuss current issues and accept member comment. 

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