August 18, 2023.
During the August 15 Tribal Board Meeting Members asked the Board to provide an update about Indian Energy. Answering for the Board, Austin Lowes stated we were promised a payment, but was not able to provide information about why the payments were not paid as projected and could not explain the terms of this business contract.
After this meeting in a phone call placed to Indian Energy, CEO Allen G. Cadreau reported they are working on new projects and hope to be able to pay a Stock-Holder Dividend Payment to our tribe in 4th quarter of 2023. This claim appears to be in part because the California Energy Commission announced on October 31 2022 the approval of a $31 million grant awarded to Indian Energy to deploy a 60 megawatt-hour long-duration energy storage battery system that will provide 100 percent renewable back-up power to sustain critical operations for the Viejas Tribe of Kumeyaay Indians in the event of a grid emergency. This project is one of the largest state grants ever awarded to benefit a Tribal government, as part of the state of California's plan to transition to 100 percent clean electricity.
California Energy Commission Announcement
While those in charge of this investment at the tribe will not discuss the terms of this business venture during the Board Meetings, you can make a request to see the contract as allowed in our Constitution By-Laws Article III, in theory. In reality it may take a court order based on our experience of multiple unanswered "Reasonable Requests" we have made in the last 18 months to the Board that have gone ignored.
Normally venture capital investment companies require ten times the return or more for their investments. Based on those terms Indian Energy would be required to pay us a reasonable interest rate on the money we provided plus a minimum of $25,000,000.
It is what it is. We own 15% of Indian Energy.
We need to support this business venture while we hold both Indian Energy and those that have been hiding the facts about this investment from us since 2010 accountable.
Until proven otherwise we choose to hope for the best possible outcome for all parties in this business venture and to believe that those that made this decision to invest in Indian Energy did so to help our tribe grow financially as stated in the resolution passed to fund this investment.
Below is a diagram found about Indian Energy from the Chippewa Sustainable Solutions Facebook page that claims they are the owners of Indian Energy, which only raises additional questions. https://www.facebook.com/CSS8a/ We will be following this story including where the profits of this business will be allotted to serve our tribe.
