The Colorado Springs, Colo., City Council decided to indefinitely postpone a decision on whether to close the city-owned, coal-fired Martin Drake Plant earlier than 2035, in order to first study whether the city can get replacement power if it joins a regional transmission group.
The nine-member council, meeting as the Colorado Springs Utilities Board, on Dec. 18 voted to accelerate transmission improvements to bring more power downtown where the Drake plant is located, according to Council President Richard Skorman.
However, Skorman said the council in essence "made a decision not to make a decision" on setting an earlier closure date for the plant. Skorman said the board decided there were too many questions to answer first about how to obtain replacement power and costs of generation alternatives.
"We thought we just needed to have more information first and are hoping to revisit it in the near-2020 range when we have answers to these questions," Skorman said.
Currently, the city does not have the option to bring the amount of power the 208-MW Drake plant produces to the city from outside sources, he said, adding that having a coal plant in town detracts from the city's revitalization efforts, including plans for the U.S. Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame near the site.
Utility officials have been considering alternatives, including renewable energy and gas-fired capacity as well as importing electricity. Skorman, who favors closing the plant before 2025, said building a gas-fired replacement plant at the site would be an expensive "worst-case scenario" that would only be carried out if the city determines it has no alternatives.
While declining to pull the plug on Drake, the board decided to hire a consultant in 2018 to figure out the best plan for upgrading the city's transmission system, including a line from Kelker Junction near Fort Carson on the outskirts of town to the Drake site. Even if Drake is closed and no gas-fired plant is built to replace it, the electric transfer station will remain at the plant site, he said.
"That is where we would bring power into the downtown grid," he continued. Links and upgrades to connections with Xcel Energy Inc. and the Platte River Power Authority are also needed, Skorman said.
Colorado Springs is a member of the Mountain West Transmission Group, which is negotiating to join the Southwest Power Pool along with participants Xcel Energy, Platte River and at least four other electric service providers.
The Sierra Club criticized the board's delay on Drake, saying Colorado's last urban coal plant now remains on schedule to stay open another 17 years. The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign spokesman, Zach Pierce, urged the utility board "to set a clear timeline for a new retirement vote."
