Drake decommissioning among options as Utilities seeks citizen input on electric future
The Drake power plant, a coal-fired facility that
provides about a third of the city's electric power, would be decommissioned in
three of the nine scenarios being considered for the updated Colorado Springs
Utilities Electric Integrated Resource Plan. The photo was shot looking east from
the Moreno Street hill. The businesses in the foreground are along Eighth Street.
I-25 can be seen between them and the plant.
Westside Pioneer photo
|
The meeting is scheduled Thursday, July 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Leon Young Service Center, 1521 S. Hancock Expressway.
Required to be updated every five years, the plan lays out Utilities' strategy for handling future electric energy demands. The general goal is to focus on “safe, reliable power that is respectful of the environment, while minimizing costs to ratepayers,” the Utilities website states.
The city-owned enterprise has proposed nine EIRP “scenario” options, reflecting varying levels of environmental aggressiveness, which would increase customer costs correspondingly because of the higher costs of renewable energy.
More information is available on a separate page on the Utilities website at https://www.csu.org/Pages/eirp-r.aspx. This page includes a summary of Utilities' EIRP process as well as a list of clickable “Related Links.” One link, titled “April 9, 2015 station scenarios,” is a graphic with an illustration defining each of the nine options.
In three of the nine the Drake power plant (coal-fired, providing about a third of the city's electric power) would be decommissioned.
Those wanting to provide EIRP input separate from the meeting can also do so from the above website page. The link for that, titled “Provide input,” is among those listed under the Related Links heading.
People can also comment by calling Gail Conners, the EIRP lead, at 668-8012.
Westside Pioneer/press release
(Posted 7/29/15;
Community
Ongoing Issues)
Would you like to respond to this article? The Westside Pioneer welcomes letters at editor@westsidepioneer.com. (Click here for letter-writing criteria.)