Xcel Energy is proposing to accelerate a shift from coal-fired power to natural gas in an effort to gain regulatory approval of a sweeping fuel-conversion plan.
In a hearing Tuesday before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Xcel said it will file next week a proposal to shut down the Cherokee 4 coal-fired generator in north Denver by 2017, five years earlier than the utility initially had proposed.
The changed date would put the conversion plan in conformance with the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, which the Colorado legislature passed this year.
The act gives Xcel financial incentives to execute a $1.3 billion program to cut emissions by phasing out coal-fired generators in Denver and Boulder and retooling plants to run on cleaner natural gas. Other power stations near Brush and Hayden would still burn coal but be upgraded to reduce pollutants.
Xcel customers would see their bills rise by an estimated 1.5 percent to cover costs of the conversion.
The proposal generally is supported by environmental groups and natural-gas producers and opposed by the coal-mining industry.
The PUC is scheduled to begin hearings on the plan Thursday and also rule on a motion by the Colorado Mining Association seeking to disqualify PUC Commissioners Ron Binz and Matt Baker for an alleged conflict of interest because they helped craft the legislation.
Another group opposing the plan, the Colorado Independent Energy Association, said Xcel’s new proposal to hasten the conversion of the Cherokee 4 coal plant puts utility consumers at risk of higher costs and lower reliability.
“At the eleventh hour, they’re coming in and trying to change the rules,” said Nick Muller, executive director of the association. “There’s going to be a great potential for cost overruns and delays.”
Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said the new proposal’s effect on costs, scheduling and power reliability won’t be made public until the utility files the plan next week with the PUC.
Boulder-based environmental-research group Western Resource Advocates said it supports the early-conversion plan.
“It’s a positive development,” said John Niel sen, energy-program director. “Cherokee 4 is a major contributor to air pollution. The sooner it can be shut down, the sooner we’ll be able to get the air cleaner.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
