To meet Colorado’s surging need for electricity, our state needs energy from a diverse array of dedicated sources. Unfortunately, with the pending closure of the two remaining, operational, coal-fired units at Xcel Energy’s Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo, things are getting tricky.

Comanche is the state’s largest power plant, with an original capacity of 1,410 megawatts. But its Unit 1 was shut down in 2022 as part of the statewide phaseout of coal-burning power plants. Unit 2 now is set to close at the end of this year, with Comanche Unit 3 scheduled for closure in 2030. It’s all part of Gov. Jared Polis’ green-energy agenda, which aims to move away from fossil fuels like coal in favor of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Comanche 3 is already offline because it’s down for repairs until at least June. So, Xcel — the power plant’s owner and Colorado’s largest electric utility — has petitioned Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission to postpone retiring Comanche 2. Without it, Xcel won’t have enough generation capacity to cover demand.

Polis backs the delay alongside several state agencies, including the Public Utilities Commission itself. The announcement came within weeks after U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, who represents Pueblo, requested the Trump administration indefinitely delay Comanche 2’s closure.

“Fundamentally, I think this is an issue of grid stability, which goes beyond the state borders of Colorado,” Hurd wrote.

Alongside current demand, Colorado is vying for investment by employers in the tech sector to develop leading-edge AI and quantum technologies. The need for more electricity generation as well as transmission capacity is expected to grow by magnitudes as a result.

The Polis administration is requesting the PUC’s postponement of Comanche 2’s retirement through December 2026, pressing up against his own goal of closing all six Colorado coal-fired power plants by 2031. 

Give the governor credit for being willing to pause his clean-energy timetable to address the grid’s practical needs. But that’s at best a baby step toward a more rational balance overall in our state’s power portfolio. Colorado’s need for more power runs much deeper and broader than just delaying the closure of one unit at one coal-fired plant. 

The state’s aggressive renewable energy targets, including those compelling Comanche’s closure, ignore the state’s longer-term needs. Xcel’s Clean Energy Plan likely will cost $12 billion to meet a state mandate that utilities statewide reduce greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. 

At the very least, as Congressman Hurd urges, the delay in Comanche’s closure not only should be approved but made a long-term stay, pending an assessment of the state’s soaring energy needs in coming years and our ability to generate and transmit enough electricity. 

Our state has made substantial investment in renewables like wind, solar and bio fuels, and that’s fine as far as it goes. Those technologies continue to develop but, by all projections, cannot generate enough energy consistently in the foreseeable future to reliably address our state’s base load needs.

This shouldn’t be about checking a “green” box. It’s about guaranteeing a diverse, stable energy mix that keeps the grid running and ensures electrical bills are affordable amid rising demand for power and shrinking baseload capacity.

Comanche 2’s operation shouldn’t just continue through next year but until Colorado can guarantee affordable, reliable power without it — and the energy transition finally catches up to reality.