San Miguel Power Association, Inc. was established in 1938 for the purpose of supplying central station power to the rural farms and dwellings in the San Miguel Basin area, after these same people were denied service by Western Colorado Power.
In 1972 SMPA purchased the areas around Telluride, Rico, Ouray, Silverton, Ridgway and Colona. These areas included some of the most rugged and hazardous country in the United States. From the start, SMPA worked to upgrade the poorly maintained mountain lines to improve reliability to their members.
In 1992 The SMPA system was acquired by Tri-State Generation and Transmission.