Xcel Seeks One-Year Extension to Keep Comanche Coal Unit Running as Grid Pressures Rise
By Scott Weiser | Colorado Politics
Colorado’s largest utility company has petitioned energy regulators to push back the retirement of a coal-fired, electrical generating unit located in the Southern part of the state from December 2025 to the end of 2026.
The Polis administration is backing the petition.
Comanche Unit 2 is one of three coal-fired units at the Pueblo-based Comanche Generating Station.
In its petition, Xcel Energy cites as reason an extended outage at the adjacent Unit 3, surging peak demand and supply chain hurdles.
The petition underscores admissions from both Xcel and state officials about a potential generating resource shortfall exacerbated by a failure at the Comanche Unit 3, taking it off-line for the next 11 months, and by delays in bringing new “rene...