The Denver Post’s Judith Kohler reports that Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd has asked U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to issue an emergency order keeping the remaining units at Xcel’s Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo running. Hurd’s warning is simple. Colorado’s politically driven rush to shut down reliable baseload generation could leave the state short on electricity when it matters.
Kohler lays out the current mess. Comanche 3, the state’s largest unit, has been down since mid-August and might not return until next summer. One unit was closed in 2022, another is slated to close at the end of 2025, and the last unit is scheduled to shut by 2030. Xcel plans to replace the plant with wind, solar, batteries, and natural gas. Pueblo leaders aren’t convinced, citing lost jobs, tax revenue, and grid stability. An advisory committee has floated natural gas or small modular nuclear as saner replacements. Meanwhile, an Adams County commissioner blasted Hurd’s request as unnecessary and expensive, while Xcel said it will comply with any DOE order.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Hurd hits the brakes. He asked DOE to keep Comanche’s coal units online to avoid an avoidable shortfall. Reliability is not a vibe.
- The big unit is down. Comanche 3 has been offline since August and might not wake up until next summer. Peak demand does not care about press releases.
- Closure schedule is set. One unit already closed, another slated for end of 2025, final shutdown by 2030. Political calendars are not power plants.
- Replacement plan is vibes-heavy. Xcel says wind, solar, batteries, and some gas. Pueblo voices want natural gas or small modular nuclear that actually works on cloudy, windless days.
- The chorus of denial. A metro-area official says there is no emergency. Cool. Tell that to families when the thermostat blinks to zero on a January night.
My Bottom Line
Seven years of legislative virtue signaling have left Colorado’s grid looking like a group project where the kid who did the work was told to sit down because the poster needed more glitter. The people who actually understand generation and demand warned against this rush. They were ignored in favor of hashtags and ribbon cuttings.
I agree with Congressman Hurd. The feds should step in and be the adults in the room. Keep Comanche running until there is proven, dispatchable replacement on the ground, not just PowerPoint slides and grant applications. I like my lights to turn on when I flip the switch and my house to stay warm when the Front Range turns into a freezer. Reliability first. Politics last.
Source: The Denver Post
