Xcel’s Coal Plant History

2010: Comanche Unit 3 opens

Xcel had already been operating Comanche Units 1 and 2 since the 1970s, but the major controversy started in 2010 when Colorado regulators at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the enormous, 1 billion dollar 750-megawatt third unit, which environmentalists and community members protested. Coal plants have long been lauded for their "reliability" in providing steady energy when it's most needed, but as we'll see, that has not been the case. The third unit was fraught with outage issues, leaks, and equipment failures from the start.

2020-2021: Prolonged plant closure due to breakdowns

When power was needed most, Comanche 3 suffered major issues, causing it to be offline. The plant had over 700 days of outages, INCLUDING? The entire of 2020. These problems led to unplanned costs passed on to ratepayers of at least $14 million. Xcel was able to fill energy demand from other sources, but harsh winters and oil and gas industry greed caused massive spikes in gas prices for Xcel customers as well.”

2022-2023: Xcel agrees to retire Comanche 3 by 2031

After immense pressure and advocacy from environmental groups, community members, and labor partners, Xcel backed off a plan to continue operating Comanche 3 for decades and finally agreed to an earlier retirement date. Xcel would need to develop a transition plan for workers and replace the power.

Tragically, two workers were killed in 2022 when a coal pile collapsed.

In 2023, CORE Electric Cooperative, a co-owner in Comanche 3, filed a lawsuit against Xcel for damages resulting from decades of problems, claiming Xcel had "driven this plant to dysfunction through mismanagement and incompetence.

Oct. 15, 2024: Xcel submits Just Transition Plan

On October 15, Xcel submitted their plan—called a Just Transition Solicitation portfolio—to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the regulatory body that will eventually approve a final plan for the utility. Their initial plan includes several scenarios that consider different rates of growth as well as the potential for false solutions to be added to the mix - mainly nuclear power and hydrogen blending with fossil gas.