White House power plan will bring big changes to southern Colorado

A major climate change plan from the White House will bring big changes to southern Colorado, and how it creates energy.

The government’s new proposal will require power plants to cut emissions and shift to more renewable energy sources.

President Obama is calling for a 32 percent cut on total carbon emissions throughout the U.S.

To reach that national goal, each state needs to do its part, and every state has a different mission.

Colorado is responsible for cutting 28 percent of its carbon emissions over the next 15 years.

“It is a significant reduction, and different states will have to figure out the best way to achieve those goals. A lot of that will be from switching from coal to natural gas and renewable energies,” Colorado Springs Utilities spokesman Dave Grossman said.

That switch could mean a complete overhaul for southern Colorado, which is mostly powered on coal.

Grossman said some states might be more prepared than others, but southern Colorado is in a good spot.

“We already have an energy vision that we developed in 2011. We’ve been adding additional solar power and wind contracts, so we’ll be seeing more of that over the next few years,” Grossman said.

Despite the projects already in motion, officials still fall short of reaching the governments new requirements.

“Those goals will help us towards the plan, but they won’t get us all the way there,” Grossman said.

Critics say the plan will hurt taxpayers’ wallets, and Colorado Springs utilities agree.

Officials expect the mandate to eventually drive up costs for all Colorado electric companies; however, it’s too early to know how much.