DENVER—A coal-industry group has asked two public utilities commissioners to recuse themselves from considering a plan by Xcel Energy to switch some power plants to run on natural gas instead of coal.
A new state law required Xcel Energy to file a plan to cut emissions. The three-member Colorado Public Utilities Commission must approve, deny or modify that plan by Dec. 15.
The Colorado Mining Association said in a filing with the commission that PUC Chairman Ronald Binz and Commissioner Matt Baker were involved in negotiations with Xcel and natural gas companies on the new law and can’t be considered impartial as they review Xcel’s plan.
The mining association argued that while commissioners can offer input on legislation, they cannot “cross the line of impartiality” by negotiating critical aspects of a bill.
A PUC spokesman said Wednesday the commissioners wouldn’t comment before reviewing the association’s request.
Binz, however, defended the commission’s actions in an editorial Wednesday in The Denver Post.
Responding to a previous Post column, Binz wrote that the governor’s office sought his advice on the legislation and that he insisted on changes “that were needed to protect consumers.”
The commission is routinely involved in the legislative process and members’ actions were legal and appropriate, Binz wrote.
John Nielsen of Western Resource Advocates, an environmental group, said the commissioners’ role was appropriate.
“This is nothing more than an 11th hour attempt by the coal industry to use intimidation tactics to derail critical progress on cleaning up Colorado’s air,” he said.
Xcel has proposed retiring 903 megawatts of coal-fired generation through 2022. The plan includes closing a coal-fired plant in Boulder and converting units in Denver to run on natural gas.
