The Denver Post, in a report by Judith Kohler, says Xcel Energy is asking regulators for approval to spend up to $100 million to shore up electricity supplies for this summer and next, with customers ultimately on the hook for the cost. The article ties the urgency to projected summer demand, the continued outage at Comanche 3 near Pueblo, and broader worries about whether the utility will have enough power available during peak heat.
Kohler notes that Comanche 3, Xcel’s largest generation source at 750 megawatts, has been offline since last August and is not expected back until mid-July. The article also says Xcel predicts demand will grow even as coal plants are being retired in the transition to more renewable energy. In response, the company is proposing a grab bag of short-term fixes, including upgrades at natural gas and coal plants, keeping a smaller coal unit running past its prior retirement date, boosting incentives for large customers to curtail usage in emergencies, and arranging a short-term contract for power from the Craig plant.
The piece also quotes the crossfire around all this. Consumer advocates argue customers should not be forced to cover the cost of Xcel’s operational problems, while environmental advocates object to leaning on more coal and gas. Xcel, for its part, says resource adequacy has been a growing risk for years and that it has proposed solutions before. That line matters, because it points to a bigger story than simple utility bungling.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Xcel wants permission to recover up to $100 million from customers to help avoid summer power gaps this year and next. Nothing says confidence in the grid like asking ratepayers to finance the emergency patch kit.
- The article says a major driver is the loss of Comanche 3, Xcel’s biggest generation source, which has been down since August and is not expected back until mid-July. That is a real operational problem, and Xcel owns part of that mess.
- But the article also plainly states that power demand is rising while coal plants are being retired to make room for more renewable energy. That is not some side note buried in the margins. That is the whole plot.
- Xcel’s short-term plan includes squeezing more output from existing gas and coal plants, extending a smaller coal unit beyond its original retirement date, and even buying power tied to the Craig coal plant. So yes, the system still runs on reality when the weather gets serious.
- Xcel spokeswoman Sydney Isenberg said the company has identified resource adequacy as a growing risk for several years and has previously proposed solutions. Translation: this train was wobbling on the tracks long before the headlines showed up.
My Bottom Line
It would be easy to read this article and work yourself into a righteous little fury about Xcel’s short-sightedness. And to be fair, Xcel does deserve part of the blame. A utility its size should be expected to run its system competently, maintain its assets, and avoid putting customers in the position of paying extra because the company is scrambling.
But before everybody lights the torches, remember the special little circus Xcel operates inside. It is a publicly traded company regulated by a three-member Public Utilities Commission appointed by the governor, which means the company is trying to plan a grid under the watch of political appointees who presumably share Jared Polis’ energy ideology. Add to that a Democrat-controlled legislature that has chosen an energy winner in advance, declared that electrical generation must be 100% renewable by a date certain, and treated engineering constraints like rude interruptions to the vibes.
That is why the tell in this article is not just Comanche 3 being down. It is the line that Xcel predicts demand will grow at the same time its coal plants are being retired to make the transition to more renewable energy. There it is. There is the policy collision in plain English. Colorado is shutting down dispatchable, dependable generation before replacement resources are fully capable of carrying the load under stress. Then everyone acts surprised when the utility starts reaching for emergency coal, gas, and customer curtailment plans to keep the lights on.
So yes, Xcel has operational issues. No serious person should deny that. But Colorado’s energy problems are more closely tied to legislative and regulatory uncertainty than to mere utility missteps. Xcel is operating in a framework shaped by politicians who think environmental vibes are interchangeable with electrical engineering. They are not. When you force a transition by decree, constrain the available options, and punish traditional generation before the system is ready, you do not get a cleaner utopia. You get a shakier grid, higher costs, and summer headlines asking why the backup plan suddenly costs $100 million.
Source: The Denver Post
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