Comanche 3 Power Plant in Pueblo to close three years earlier than planned

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)-- The Comanche 3 Power Plant is now slated to close on January 1, 2031, three years earlier than previously scheduled. The plant was supposed to close in 2040, but in December 2021, officials said the plant was closing in 2034.

As part of a settlement negotiated by Pueblo County, Xcel Energy will continue to collect tax payments for 10 years, until December. In exchange, the county is dangling an incentive, reducing tax payments if a replacement generation is built in Pueblo County.

The settlement was contingent on the Pueblo County Board of Commissioners signing off on the deal at Thursday's board meeting.

Commissioner Garrison Ortiz praised the agreement, saying it alleviated the county's concerns about property tax money generation.

"I think it is almost unbelievable," Ortiz said. "But we are very grateful that public service is finding a way to keep us whole on our property taxes, which was our primary concern for 10 years, even after the closure that they are reluctantly accepting. So I think that really needs to be noted," he continued. "Xcel has been a great partner."

According to our news partners at The Pueblo Chieftan, the county collects about $25 million per year based on property taxes for the power plant. The Chieftan reports the county was relying on the property tax from the power plant to finance projects, that have already been approved by voters.

Still, Ortiz said it's disappointing that distributing money for those projects has been on hold because of this "unnecessary battle."

"Hopefully we can get this done because the county has certainly in putting those projects on hold we've we've lost out on opportune interest rates that were at an all-time historic low the past two years. But we certainly do hope that we can get this done and put this issue to bed, get our winning projects moving forward."

The plant was previously reported to close in December of 2034.