DENVER – One year after Xcel Energy's Comanche 3 power plant near Pueblo went offline, a Colorado consumer watchdog group is raising concerns that customers could end up footing the bill for repairs and related power costs.
Xcel was forced to shut down Comanche 3 on Aug. 12 of last year after major damage to one of the plant's turbines. The company must now approach the Colorado Public Utilities Commission with a plan to pay for repairs and any power gaps caused by the outage — a plan that could include requesting customer rate increases.
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The nonprofit Colorado Public Interest Research Group, known as CoPIRG, is pushing back on that possibility. The group points to a history of reliability problems at the plant, saying Comanche 3 experienced more than 700 days of unplanned shutdowns between 2010 and 2021.
Danny Katz, executive director of the CoPIRG Foundation, said the plant’s history speaks for itself.
"There's enough track record to demonstrate that this is a problematic source of power, and we should not have to pay for the repair costs or the consequences of having it down for so long," Katz said.
Katz said the decision about who pays has not yet been made, but the clock is running.
"We are racking up a bill, but who's going to pay that bill has not been made yet," Katz said.
He said Xcel has several options, including drawing on insurance coverage or absorbing the costs themselves, but CoPIRG is concerned the company may seek to pass those costs to ratepayers.
"We want to make sure that the PUC denies any efforts to try to charge customers for this reliably unreliable power plant," Katz said.
Katz said the Public Utilities Commission is the key decision-maker and encouraged Xcel customers to weigh in before a final determination is made.
"The Public Utilities Commission is a regulatory body. They accept public comments. CoPIRG has a petition, as well, that you can sign, but it is not too late for customers to weigh in and make sure that these costs are not passed on to them," Katz said.
In a statement, Xcel Energy said the return-to-service date for Comanche 3 has been pushed back due to supply chain delays and that the company will update the PUC on Aug. 22.
The full statement from Xcel Energy reads:
" Xcel Energy is focused on safely returning Comanche Unit 3 back online while advancing a balanced resource plan that meets our customers' energy needs. Due to equipment availability delays within the supply chain that are outside of the company's control, the anticipated return-to-service date has been adjusted and the company will update the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in our report on August 22nd.
In the current electric rate case settlement agreement before the PUC, we ensured that capital costs of repairs are not a part of customer bills and future cost recovery proposals would be subject to review and approval by the PUC. We remain committed to managing costs responsibly and maximizing every customer dollar while maintaining the safe and reliable electric service our customers depend on. Our work reflects Xcel Energy’s ongoing commitment to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable energy while responsibly planning for Colorado’s energy future.”
There is no hard deadline for when Xcel must appear before the Public Utilities Commission, but the commission will have to make a decision before any costs are assigned — whether to Xcel or its customers.
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