Legislation that creates a pathway for Colorado Springs Utilities to operate a coal-fired unit until Dec. 31, 2032, has been approved by Colorado state lawmakers and will now be sent to Gov. Jared Polis, who has signaled that he will sign the bill into law.
The bill allows the Colorado public power utility to operate the coal-fired unit at the Ray Nixon Power Plant until the end of 2032. Under current state law, the utility must retire this unit by the end of 2029.
Senate Bill 26-182 was developed through months of negotiations involving the Governor’s office, environmental stakeholders, business leaders and state energy officials, noted Travas Deal, CEO of the utility, in a May 11 post.
“This legislation reflects a fair but firm compromise that advances Colorado’s clean energy objectives while recognizing the operational realities of serving our community reliably and affordably,” he wrote.
“This is a tremendous legislative accomplishment and is the culmination of over a year and a half of work with policymakers. We are extremely grateful to our bill sponsors for their hard work and leadership on this critically important issue,” Deal said.
In addition to the adjusted compliance timeline of Dec. 31, 2032, for Nixon’s coal retirement, the law includes:
• Annual reporting on Springs Utilities’ progress toward state clean energy goals.
• A commitment to explore feasible emissions reductions beyond 80%.
• Guardrails to ensure system reliability, safety and affordability remain protected.
“We will now move forward with implementation planning and continued engagement with state and local partners to ensure compliance with the law and progress toward long-term emissions reductions,” Deal said.
