Pueblo Unit 3* is typically Colorado's
largest single emitter of carbon dioxide.
The good news:
Pueblo 3 has frequently been offline/unable to generate electricity for a cumulative two years since 2010. Xcel has stated the plant is not needed in terms of system reliability.
The bad news:
Colorado Xcel customers are paying over $100 million/year to keep the coal plant generating profits for Xcel whether it is working or not.
*Pueblo 3 is how we refer to Xcel’s “Commanche 3” as we assume Native Americans would not want to have a dirty power plant named after them.
TAKE ACTION: Demand the Closure of Pueblo 3!
Please submit comments to by email to the Xcel Board of Directors: boardofdirectors@xcelenergy.com.
Don't Fix it! PULL THE PLUG on PUEBLO 3!
Pueblo 3 Should Not Be Paid For By Ratepayers
Xcel customers are paying over $100 million/year to keep the Pueblo 3 plant generating profits for Xcel whether it is working or not.
PSCo, Xcel’s Colorado subsidiary, reported 2021 after-tax profits were $660 million.
How is it that a monopoly with no competition is able to make a bad decision, pass the cost onto ratepayers and still reap obscene profits?
Pueblo 3 Should Never Have Been Built
The dangers of burning fossil fuels and the awareness of the looming climate crisis was well-documented in the early 2000s when Xcel conceived of this huge capital expenditure.
A 2009 report by Leslie Glustrom describes this as Colorado’s Billion Dollar Mistake.
So why did they build Pueblo 3? Because that is How Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) Make Money.
Pull the Plug on Pueblo 3:
- Pueblo 3 has been unable to generate electricity for a cumulative two years since it started in 2010.
- Xcel customers pay over $100 million/year to keep the coal-fired plant generating profits for Xcel — working or not.
When fully operating, Pueblo 3:
- has emitted CO2 / year equivalent to 1,000,000 passenger vehicles
- uses 4.9 million gallons of water per day
- is permitted to emit about 2 lbs. mercury per week + other toxins
- was fined by EPA for non-compliance of toxic coal ash management
- is more expensive than clean renewables
PULL THE PLUG on PUEBLO 3, don’t repair or bring it back online!
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Pueblo 3 in the News
Letter to the Editor: Chris Hoffman – Pull the plug on Pueblo 3
Link to the original article “Colorado has fallen alarmingly behind statutory goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions for 2025 and 2030.” This is the big
A heat wave wasn’t the only reason Xcel Energy locked customers out of their thermostats — their largest coal plant broke down
During a blazing heat wave ahead of Labor Day weekend, thousands of Xcel Energy customers lost control of their smart thermostats as Colorado’s largest utility
Denver Post Op-Ed Missing All the Critical Facts
RE — Colorado’s transition from coal power will be rapid and just – 8/27/22 — by Toor, Horvath, et al To the Editors: To the
Xcel Agrees To Nearly $1 Million EPA Fine Over Coal Ash Storage At Problem-Plagued Comanche Power Plant
Read the article and watch the video here (CBS4) — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday a settlement reached with Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo)
Opinion: Steve Pomerance: PUC: It’s time to fish or cut bait
Link to the original article The following is a modified version of testimony I sent to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for their current hearing
Opinion: 12 years is too long to let the Comanche 3 coal-fired electricity plant keep running
State regulators have an opportunity to reconsider. They should take it. Link to the original article As mayors who represent Coloradans in Xcel Energy’s
Comanche 3’s shaky reason to exist
Xcel Energy wants to keep Colroado’s youngest coal plant operating until 2034. But what is the evidence it can deliver power when it’s needed?
David Takahashi: Shutter this underachieving, polluting coal-fired plant now
David Takahashi: Shutter this underachieving, polluting coal-fired plant now Boulder Daily Camera, Guest Commentary, April 3, 2022, by David Takahashi The Marshall and now NCAR
Climate timidity rules in Colorado
The state must act quicker to shut down coal-fired power plants By Quentin Young. Published in Colorado Newsline Link to the original article For all
Steve Whitaker: Xcel—Enough Already
Steve Whitaker: Xcel–Enough already Letter to the Editor, the Boulder Daily Camera, March 16, 2022 A business that does not deliver what was promised to
Colorado rejects Xcel Energy’s attempt to extend the life of Pueblo’s coal plant by 12 more years
Xcel Energy’s troubled Comanche 3 coal plant down again; regulators want to know why By Mark Jaffe. Published in The Colorado Sun, March 15, 2022 Link
TAKE ACTION: Demand the Closure of Pueblo 3
Submit comments via email to the Xcel Board of Directors: boardofdirectors@xcelenergy.com.