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Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Northern Colorado Leaders Warn Power Shortage Could Slow Growth

By: Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado Rapid growth across parts of Northern Colorado is colliding with a growing challenge — being able to access enough electricity to support new homes and businesses. Local leaders in Greeley say demand for power has increased significantly in recent decades. This is as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, and it creates pressure on an electric grid that is struggling to keep pace with population growth and development. "We are growing pretty rapidly," said Don Threewitt, interim community and economic developer for the city of Greeley. Threewitt said the state's electric demand has shifted dramatically in the last decade, as residents rely more heavily on technology. From smartphones and electric vehicles to incre...
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Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project
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Approved, State, The Denver Gazette

Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Trump administration on Friday released $40 million, clearing the way for a water district and its partners to finish funding the purchase of some of the state’s most senior Colorado River water rights, Gov. Jared Polis announced. Federal funding for the Shoshone water rights owned by Public Service Company, a division of Xcel Energy, was approved by the Biden administration in 2024 through the Inflation Reduction Act. An executive order issued shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 put that funding on hold. With the $40 million in federal funding on its way, the project’s funding now stands at $97 million, close enough to its $99 million total cost that the Colorado River Conservation District can move int...
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Colorado Lawmakers Renew Public Utilities Commission Authority But Sidestep Reform Debate
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Renew Public Utilities Commission Authority But Sidestep Reform Debate

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Xcel, Black Hills, some businesses backed failed attempts to amend the bill to grow the commission to 5 members in the interest of “ideological diversity.” Facing rising utility bills, clean energy mandates and new demands for power, especially from data centers, a chorus of utilities and business groups is united saying the Colorado Public Utilities Commission needs an overhaul. In part, the push appears to be prompted by some controversial commission decisions. On Saturday, Republican lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill dealing with the routine reauthorization of the commission to expand the three-person panel to five members. “We’re simply not getting a good representation on the PUC with three people,” said Rep...
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Colorado’s War On Natural Gas Could Cost Coloradans Dearly
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s War On Natural Gas Could Cost Coloradans Dearly

By Elizabeth Caven | Commentary, The Denver Gazette In a state where winter isn’t optional, you’d think reliable heat wouldn’t be either. Yet, Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission seems increasingly comfortable with discarding the very energy source that keeps the majority of households in the state warm: natural gas. Residents are not thinking about long-term regulatory frameworks when they go to turn up the heat in January. They are asking much simpler questions: Will their homes stay warm, and can they afford it? This is what makes Colorados current energy trajectory so puzzling and, increasingly, troubling. Natural gas continues to be the backbone of the states energy sphere even as lawmakers at the Capitol seem determined to ignore that fact. A recent report published ...
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Nuclear Energy Proposal Divides Colorado Democrats And Environmental Groups
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Nuclear Energy Proposal Divides Colorado Democrats And Environmental Groups

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Colorado bill would set a nuclear permitting czar, help utilities find a location, and allow them to charge customers for $20 million in studies. A major effort to smooth the way for a return to nuclear-generated power in Colorado gets a first hearing Thursday in a legislative committee, as boosters of the out-of-favor technology claim growing energy demands and better design prove the time is right for a revival.  The state’s longstanding coalition of nonprofit groups that advocate for environmental and economic justice, meanwhile, vow a united front against the nuclear-friendly effort, and say some of their allies have betrayed the clean energy cause in favor of risky economic development.  House Bill 1337, up for deb...
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Colorado Bill Could Lock Xcel Customers Into Decades Of Power Plant Costs
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Bill Could Lock Xcel Customers Into Decades Of Power Plant Costs

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette State regulators would gain expanded power to order Xcel Energy to finance major costs for its chronically troubled Comanche 3 coal plant through bonds backed by a decades-long charge on every customer’s monthly electric bill. House Bill 26-1326, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission sunset bill that cleared its first committee on April 23, would let the PUC direct investor-owned utilities to use securitization under 2019’s Colorado Energy Impact Bond Act. The measure continues the PUC through 2037 while expanding its authority beyond voluntary utility applications. Securitization allows a utility to issue bonds backed by a decades-long charge on ratepayer bills. The charge stays on every bill, with periodic adjustments, only unt...
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State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Local

State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recently sided with Xcel Energy in overriding Elbert County’s denial of a permit for the monopoly utility’s $1.7 billion power line project. The decision was based on a rarely used state statute. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, both Elbert and El Paso counties previously denied Xcel’s permit request to build a massive transmission line that slices directly through Colorado’s Eastern Plains. Colorado’s Power Pathway Project is 550-mile line connecting wind and solar energy generated in eastern counties to Denver metro-area communities. The project is a vital part of Governor Polis’ ambitious, though increasingly unrealistic mandate for 100% renewable energy ...
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San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy will implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff for some customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley on Wednesday because of extreme wildfire risk driven by strong winds, low humidity, hot weather and very dry conditions, the company said. The shutoff will start around noon Wednesday in portions of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, Xcel said in a Tuesday afternoon news release. Conditions are expected to improve around 7 p.m. Wednesday, with restoration beginning as soon as lines can be safely inspected. About 7,100 customers are expected to be impacted by the shutoff, Xcel said. Much of the region is in extreme to exceptional drought following a record warm and dry winter, accord...
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Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Xcel Energy announced that customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley should prepare for possible power shutoffs on Wednesday. Strong winds, combined with dry conditions and low humidity, will result in high wildfire risk. "To reduce the risk of wildfire and support public safety, we are planning for a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning on Wednesday, April 22, around 9 a.m. MT for some customers in Garfield, Mesa and Pitkin counties, and around 11 a.m. MT for some customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache counties," the company said. Many of these areas are already experiencing extreme or exceptional drought, and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag...
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Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The ruling was based on a statute used just 3 times in 21 years allowing regulators to override local land use decisions on electric and gas infrastructure projects. State utility regulators have overruled local land use decisions and cleared the way for Xcel Energy to build its $1.7 billion Power Pathway transmission line through Elbert County. The line will bring Eastern Plains wind and solar to the Front Range. The Elbert County Commission voted in June 2025 to deny Xcel Energy two key permits responding to protests by landowners and ranchers and an unwillingness by the utility to reroute the path, which cut through the heart of the county. The county commission and many landowners sought to have the route moved fa...
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