COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs Utilities is joining the Southwest Power Pool, a collaboration of power companies across 17 states, to enhance reliability and keep electricity costs low.
The move allows multiple utility companies to pool power. For example, on a day when one company is generating a lot of solar power and another is struggling because of clouds, they can share resources.
An electrical grid is already in place to share electricity, meaning all the companies in the pool can work together to maximize generation where it makes sense. That is especially true with wind and solar renewable energy.
"It makes it easier for us to connect maybe a wind resource in Wyoming or a solar resource on the edges of southwest Colorado and bring those to our load," Alex Baird, Colorado Springs Utilities general manager of fuels and purchase power, said.
"So if we don't need coal generation during the shoulder seasons, the market will turn off the coal generation and let all the wind and solar serve the market," Baird said.
For customers, paying the bill to keep the lights on is a necessity, but there is also a desire to keep costs low and avoid unexpected budget surprises.
"I mean, it's just one of those things that we have to do," Colorado Springs resident Megan Cheyne said."A consistent bill would be great."
Reliable power and electric bills with no shock factor is the plan as Colorado Springs Utilities joins this shared system April 1st.
"We go live and no one notices anything different day to day," Baird said.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
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