Xcel files plan to close coal-fired power plant in Pueblo

DENVER (AP) — Xcel Energy has filed a plan to close Colorado’s largest coal-fired power plant by 2035, well ahead of its original retirement date of 2070. The plan comes as regulators consider how the largest utility operating in Colorado can reduce its carbon emissions. Colorado Public Radio reports that Xcel filed its plan to close the Comanche 3 unit at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo on Wednesday. The unit has faced operational, equipment and financial problems that led to more than 700 days of unplanned shutdowns since 2010, regulators said in a report this year. If approved, Xcel’s plan could reduce the utility’s carbon dioxide emissions in Colorado by close to 90% this decade.