Colorado Springs, Colorado-area lawmakers on January 12 announced the introduction of legislation this legislative session aimed at helping utilities that are struggling to achieve Colorado’s Clean Energy Plan deadlines.
The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Marc Snyder, Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, Rep. Amy Paschal and House Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell.
Snyder, Paschal and Caldwell were joined by Travas Deal, CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities, at a Jan.12 news conference to discuss the legislation. Also participating in the news conference was Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, President and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation.
If passed, the bill would grant Colorado Springs Utilities the opportunity to file a new Clean Energy Plan by the end of 2026 and extend the deadline to find affordable and reliable replacement power supplies for the coal-fired unit at the Ray Nixon Power Plant, Deal noted in a blog about the legislation.
Currently, Nixon is mandated by the state to retire at the end of 2029,“but we cannot meet this deadline. A mandatory power plant retirement, without reliable, affordable sources of replacement power, will threaten electric reliability and drive already high electric rates even higher,” Deal wrote.
The bill “reflects months of our ongoing work with local, state and federal leaders to protect electric reliability and rate stability for our customers,” noted.
Colorado legislation passed in 2019 requires utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030.
The new legislation would give utilities more time to meet state requirements, “helping us reach long-term goals without causing reliability issues or raising rates for customers,” Deal noted in the blog.
Currently, if Colorado Springs Utilities cannot achieve the 2030 target, the law mandates that the state will force utilities to achieve these reductions, without consideration of the costs paid by electric customers or the impacts on reliability.
Colorado Springs Utilities filed its Clean Energy Plan in 2021 and has made significant early efforts to achieve the plan’s targets, including the retirement of the former Martin Drake Power Plant, completion of the 175-megawatt (MW) Pike Solar Array and the addition of the Jackson Fuller Energy Storage Project (100 MW).
“The combination of unfavorable market conditions for new renewable energy development, the lack of immediately viable transmission developments in Colorado and the ever-increasing load demands for additional new electricity has created a perfect storm against our ability to achieve Colorado’s goals before the state deadline,” Deal pointed out in the blog.
The next steps the utility takes in this transition “are critical to ensure we protect affordability in our growing community,” Deal said in the blog.
In the news conference, Deal said that as a community-owned utility, “we understand the rise in electric prices” adds to the economic pressures facing families and small businesses in the Pikes Peak region.
“Our commitment is clear. Plan for a sustainable future while keeping rates affordable and reliability strong,” he said.
Colorado Springs Utilities “has been a leader in fulfilling our state’s clean energy roadmap,” State Sen. Snyder said.
“Our community and CSU are committed to protecting the environment and accelerating the transition to cleaner renewable energy,” Snyder said. “But at the same time, many families are struggling with the high cost of living and we must ensure that our climate goals are met in a way that is both practicable and equitable.”
Snyder said that “until we have the local infrastructure in place such as expanded electrical transmission to reliably deliver more renewable power, we cannot possibly and responsibly achieve the next major round of emission reductions without creating an unacceptable financial burden on ratepayers.”
This April the utility will enter the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization (RTO), which will give the utility the ability to access renewable energy resources at substantially lower prices than if it was to acquire these resources by itself.
Another important step will occur later this year when the utility updates its Sustainable Energy Plan, to help it chart an energy transition for the community “that is smart, affordable, and reliable,” Deal wrote in the blog. “Finally, citizens and customers may voice their opinion on the proposed legislation in a variety of ways in the coming months, including contacting their legislators,” he noted.
