The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Friday balked at approving a billion-dollar price tag to shut down Xcel Energy’s five remaining coal-fired generating units — to be paid by customers — and instead is seeking more detailed financial analysis. The proposed closing costs were part of a settlement agreement between Xcel Energy, the state’s largest […]
Craig Station
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Energy, Equity, News
Xcel Energy to raise residential electric bills by 6.4% in April, two more rate increases loom
The average electric bill for Xcel Energy’s residential customers will go up $5.24 a month — a 6.4% increase — starting in April under a $182 million rate hike approved Wednesday by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The PUC voted 3-0 to accept the increase, which was agreed upon in rate-case negotiations that included the […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Closing all of Xcel’s coal-fired power plants will cost Colorado consumers $1.4 billion
The price tag for Xcel Energy closing all its Colorado coal-fired plants will be $1.4 billion spread over decades — a sum that will be paid exclusively by the utility’s residential and commercial customers. The closure estimates and their financing are part of the $8 billion electric resource and clean energy plan submitted last month […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Education, Energy, Environment, News
In rural Colorado, one town is looking to its community college to help survive the end of coal
By Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado Even in the dark of night, chalky smoke from the coal power plant looms over Craig. For generations, coal has been a constant in this northwestern Colorado city. But by 2030, the Craig Station stacks will go quiet as Colorado shifts to renewable energy. Coal has fueled not only Colorado’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Tri-State’s CEO on the power supplier’s year of change
They said it couldn’t be done: Create a clean energy transition at breakneck speed, while simultaneously reducing costs to consumers. Yet, after a year of hard work, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s member cooperatives and public power districts have made that commitment, cleaner and more affordable than before. In January 2020, Tri-State announced our vision […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, Politics and Government
Dollars, not politics, are driving Colorado’s accelerated embrace of solar energy
HUDSON — Standing in the shade of a massive, utility-scale array of solar panels on farmland east of Interstate 25, you don’t have to look far for real-time examples of renewable sun power supplanting fossil fuels in the arc of Colorado’s historical energy supply. Electricity generated by the Rattlesnake solar array uploads to United Power’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Delays in closing Colorado coal plants are costly in money and air quality
Under the Regional Haze provision of the federal Clean Air Act, states must submit a plan to reduce haze to the Environmental Protection Agency. This rule — aimed at limiting air pollution in national parks and wilderness areas — requires that Colorado submit its plans to the EPA by July 2021 and reduce pollution by […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Xcel Energy moves up closure dates for coal-fired power plant near Steamboat Springs
The coal-fired Hayden Generating Station will close ahead of schedule, marking the latest in a steady stream of Colorado coal plant closures, Xcel Energy announced Monday. The plant’s 44-year-old Unit 2 will close by the end 2027, and Unit 1, which came online in 1965, will be shuttered by the end of 2028. The two […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Order to close three Colorado coal-fired power plants early reversed, regulators cite “incomplete” information
The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, at the urging of utility companies, did a regulatory two-step on Wednesday, rescinding the order for early closure of three coal-fired power plants that it issued last month. The November decision, made as part of the state’s plan to reduce regional haze at national parks, was based on incomplete […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government
Ambitious plan to reduce CO2 emissions still leaves Tri-State getting 23% of electricity from coal plants
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association – Colorado’s second largest electricity provider – has proposed a $21 billion plan to wean itself from a heavy reliance on coal-fired power and move to renewable energy. The plan would reduce Tri-State’s carbon dioxide emissions by 80% from 2005 levels by 2030 – meeting a state greenhouse gas reduction […]