Comanche Power Plant Offline

PUEBLO – No more whining.

The Comanche Power Plant is officially offline, according to XCel area manager, Kathy Worthington. That means the high-pitched whine that’s been plaguing nearby residents since mid-January will be silent Wednesday, when the induction fans that cool the boilers turn off.

XCel is still paying for people to stay in hotels – provided to escape the noise – through Tuesday night.

The power plant was initially taken offline to do minor repairs.

“Given the inconvenience to the community, we decided to take it down,” said Worthington.

It’s likelynew baffles will be installed in early May. Those baffles – giant pieces of layered metal – are designed to put out and neutralize the noise. Worthington said the plant would be entirely off for the month of April.

Since the plant was in a testing phase, it’s not affecting electricity needs for customers. It’ll cost $1.5 million dollars to muffle the sound.