President Donald Trump has denied relief funds for rural Coloradans in response to floods and fires that ravaged their communities, causing electricity rates in Rio Blanco County to rise by up to 5%. The White River Electric Association, a non-profit cooperative, lost several miles of power lines in two fires that burned public and private land outside of Meeker. The association had to take out a $23.6 million loan to rebuild transmission lines and connect power to critical gas development projects in the Piceance Basin. However, this loan was not a long-term loan and could result in a 5% rate increase for members of the association. This is not the first time in 35 years that the federal government has refused to use Federal Emergency Management Act funds to assist a Colorado community recovering from a natural disaster. The analysis also revealed that the administration has denied 77% of disaster funding requests when the request comes from a state with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, while only 11% of requests were from a Republican state.