As a community-owned utility, we recognize that rising electric prices are compounding the broader economic pressures our neighbors face and directly impact hardworking families and small businesses in the Pikes Peak region. Planning our transition toward a more sustainable future must be done in a way that allows for future growth in our community, maintains affordable rates and ensures industry-leading reliability.
Our Sustainable Energy Plan
Back in 2020, Colorado Springs Utilities developed its Sustainable Energy Plan to identify electric generation investments that would enable it to meet Colorado’s ambitious mandate for utilities to achieve 80% greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030 in a way that both achieved these targets and protected electric reliability and affordability.
We have made tremendous progress to date in achieving our plan, 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).
Facing new obstacles
However, over the past two years, we have encountered increasingly difficult headwinds in our efforts to realize our initial plan. 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.
As a result, we are unable to bring sufficient resources online in time to meet Colorado’s 2030 mandate without risking both significant system reliability and customer rate increases. While we are fully committed to our sustainable energy goals, we cannot take an unbalanced approach that threatens our ability to reliably and affordably power the homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and military installations of the Pikes Peak region.
Important next steps
Accordingly, the next steps we take in this transition are critical to ensure we protect affordability in our growing community. Perhaps the most important step in our efforts will happen this April when we enter the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). Joining an RTO will give us the ability to access renewable energy resources at substantially lower prices than if we were to acquire these resources ourselves.
Another important step will occur in 2026 when we update our Sustainable Energy Plan, to help us chart an energy transition for our community that is smart, affordable, and reliable. This plan will take a bold look at assessing advanced technologies that could enable us to meet our emissions targets while protecting reliability and ensuring long-term rate stability.
Our commitment to the community
However, these efforts will not result in solutions before 2030, and we need more time and flexibility from the State of Colorado to chart a more reliable and affordable pathway to achieve Colorado’s goals.
We are committed to achieving the highest level of emissions reduction, while upholding our core obligations to rate stability and system reliability. We will work diligently with policy makers to address these issues in the coming legislative session.
