Last week, Colorado Springs-area lawmakers announced the introduction of important bipartisan legislation that could make a real difference for all our customers – especially hard-working families struggling with the ever-rising costs of living in Colorado. Senate Bill 26-022, introduced by Sen . Marc Snyder, Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, House Minority Leader Jarvis Caldwell and Rep. Amy Paschal, gives us more time to find affordable and reliable replacement power for the coal-fired unit at our Ray Nixon Power Plant. Under current state law, we must retire this unit by the end of 2029. We cannot meet this deadline without significant impacts on customers’ bills. Make no mistake; we’re not abandoning the ultimate goals in our Clean Energy Plan, and we will retire Nixon. We are asking for more time so we can accomplish this retirement in a manner that is more affordable for our community. Our Sustainable Energy Plan, adopted in 2020, set a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030 and included plans to retire Nixon. We have made tremendous progress in this plan, including the retirement of the former coal-powered Martin Drake Power Plant; however, we faced very unfavorable market conditions when seeking to replace the 200 megawatts of power generated by Nixon. In 2023 and 2024, we sought renewable energy projects for this replacement power. The bids were 50-60% higher than forecasted. If we had pursued those projects, customers would face an estimated additional 13.9% electric rate increase over 10 years. Combined with the already-approved annual electric base rate increases through 2029, this would result in a total rate increase of 35% over five years and a nearly 50% increase in the next 10 years. The combination of these market conditions, the lack of immediately viable transmission developments in Colorado, and the ever-increasing demand for electricity has created a perfect storm against our ability to achieve Colorado’s goals before the state’s deadline. When we retire a power plant, we must have reliable replacement power ready to go. That includes base-load power or energy that is available 24/7, even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. We are taking important steps to ensure we have this power in a way that protects affordability. This April we will enter the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization, giving us access to renewable energy from elsewhere at substantially lower prices than if we were to acquire these resources ourselves. Later this year, we’ll update our Sustainable Energy Plan to help us chart our energy transition. As Rep. Amy Paschal shared at a news conference last week, the people that care about the environment, and those that care about affordability and reliability are not different groups. These are things we all care about and need to carefully balance. Citizens and customers may voice their opinion on the proposed legislation in a variety of ways in the coming months, including contacting their legislators. Travas Deal is CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities. ...read more read less