After failing to win approval of a prior State Senate bill that would have pushed the closure date of the coal-fired Ray D. Nixon Power Plant to 2040, this week Colorado Springs Utilities (often called Springs Utilities or CSU) celebrated the passage of an alternate bill that delays closure for three years, from December 2029 to December 2032.
Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal hailed the approval of Senate Bill 182 by an overwhelming majority of state lawmakers. The bill passed 32-3 in the Senate and 59-5 in the House. Deal called the bill “a fair but firm compromise that advances Colorado’s clean energy objectives while recognizing the operational realities of serving our community reliably and affordably.”
It’s worth noting that the bill does not address the rate impact of whatever measures Springs Utilities will take to comply with the bill.
Rather, the bill requires Springs Utilities to submit a detailed generation and transmission plan to the state with its updated clean energy plan by the end of this year, provide annual reports to the state starting on Jan. 1, 2028, through Dec. 31, 2033, and cease burning coal by Dec. 31, 2032. It also requires the city-run utility to “seek to achieve certain additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions without impairing the municipally owned utility’s ability to maintain certain electric reliability standards.”
The bill was needed because Springs Utilities was unable to meet requirements of a 2019 state law that requires Springs Utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. Nixon emits over 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants per year.
Asked to explain who will compile the new energy plan and what it will contain, Springs Utilities spokesperson Danielle Nieves said via email that the plan will be drafted by the Energy Resource Planning team, but did not name its members. She added the plan will include “a portfolio of resources … that best achieves a balance of cost management, reliability, and environmental/regulatory compliance.”
Although she did not specify what types of energy generation or transmission would comprise the plan, she noted, “The three-year extension for Nixon’s retirement allows us to protect customer rates from increasing beyond what has already been approved. If we had to pursue the renewable projects proposed in 2024, the impact on customer rates would have been even higher.”
She was referring to the Springs Utilities Board’s adoption in 2024 of five-year rate increases for each of four services it provides — water, wastewater, gas and electric. (The Springs Utilities Board is the Colorado Springs City Council). Nieves did not provide a comparison to show what the additional rate impacts would have been if the projects proposed in 2024 had been pursued.
Springs Utilities has previously noted its intent to join the Southwest Power Pool Regional Transmission Organization in order “to access renewable energy resources at substantially lower prices than if we were to acquire these resources ourselves.” That deal was finalized April 1. The pool includes parts of at least 13 states in the nation’s mid-section.
The requirement to shut down Nixon comes as Springs Utilities deals with a recent determination that its plan for a power plant near Colorado Springs Airport would impact some air traffic, prompting Springs Utilities officials to look to move the plant elsewhere. It’s unclear what that move would cost.
Rep. Amy Paschal (D-Colorado Springs) sponsored the earlier Senate bill to delay Nixon’s closure, which never advanced beyond introduction in January. She also supported the subsequent bill, negotiated by Springs Utilities, lawmakers, regulators and Gov. Jared Polis’ office, calling it “a second chance” to submit a Clean Energy Plan (CEP) to meet 80% reductions in emissions.
But she also stressed her expectations and the bill’s requirements.
“A new, replacement CEP must include a detailed generation and transmission plan including specific assets to be acquired and timelines for acquisition and must be filed by the end of the year,” she said in an emailed statement.
“If the plan is accepted, CSU must report progress [with the] plan annually to the state, the CSU board and CSU customers. In exchange for this new opportunity CSU has agreed the coal plan will cease operation by the end of 2032, no matter what,” she said. “I highly encourage all CSU customers to get involved in creating and reviewing the new Clean Energy Plan. It’s up to us to hold CSU accountable. They report to us.”
Sen. Marc Snyder (D-Manitou Springs), who also supported the initial bill and the final one approved last week, said he’s not patting himself on the back.
“I had no desire to keep a coal plant open one second longer than it needs to be, especially Nixon, which is one of the major polluters in Colorado,” he said in a phone interview.
Since he was approached last fall by Springs Utilities to sponsor a bill giving relief from the mandated closure, he said, “What I came to learn is that [Springs] Utilities, which filed a clean energy plan in 2022 that showed it (Nixon) closing in 2029, that was under the former CEO, Aram Benyamin. Somewhere between that filing and the beginning of 2025, Springs Utilities came to realize they weren’t able to meet their clean energy plan.”
After trying to negotiate with various regulators and the governor’s office and not getting anywhere, Springs Utilities asked Snyder to support Senate Bill 22, which would have extended the Nixon closure to 2040 and became a tool to resume negotiations. That was successful, he said, and ultimately led to the recently adopted Senate Bill 182.
Snyder acknowledged that Springs Utilities is a municipal operation, unlike investor-owned Xcel Energy, which can draw on a wider scope of resources to meet emissions rules.
“I’ve learned, going back to my time in local government, sometimes a good compromise is something that nobody loves but people can live with, and that’s where we are on this,” said Snyder, who was formerly mayor of Manitou Springs.
Although the bill contains no rate containment requirements, Snyder said Springs Utilities becoming part of the power pool as of April 1 “will bring all kinds of opportunities for them,” such as bringing clean energy generated elsewhere into the local service area.
All that said, Snyder added, “We’re going to have to watch them like a hawk.”
He also doubts there will be future leniency for Nixon, which already had been given an exemption from pollution control equipment due to the previous closing date of 2029. “If they want another extension (for closure), those emissions controls would be back on them,” Snyder said. “I think there’s enough guardrails here, and I have to trust that [Springs Utilities] gets it.”
In a May 11 news release, Springs Utilities CEO Deal said, “Springs Utilities will now move forward with implementation planning and continued engagement with state and local partners to ensure compliance with the law and progress toward long-term emissions reductions.”
Gov. Polis is expected to sign the bill into law.
Watchdogs at the ready
Springs Utilities’ customers and lawmakers aren’t the only ones who will be watching progress toward curtailing pollution.
Margaret Kran-Annexstein, director of the Colorado Chapter of the Sierra Club, told the Bulletin in an emailed statement that the group is disappointed to see the federal government walking back prior coal-retirement commitments.
“Capitalizing on the Trump administration’s expensive, political, and nonsensical prioritization of coal, CSU’s initial bill, SB 022, was expected to give them the option to run Nixon until 2040 – a decade past the prior deadline. This new bill locks in a Dec. 31, 2032 retirement date and requires CSU to pursue even higher climate pollution reductions goals by 2040. We’ll be standing by at every step to ensure compliance and progress to meet these goals, as we have with every Colorado coal plant,” Kran-Annexstein said.
