State's future power needs examined
Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 22, 2006 at midnight
Experts from the electricity industry, utilities and regulators met Monday to discuss Colorado's electric infrastructure and eventually determine how much power generation and how many transmission lines will be needed in the state through 2020.
The 15-member task force, which includes representatives from Xcel, TriState, Aquila and the Public Utilities Commission, will meet three more times before presenting its recommendation to the governor Nov. 1.
The Colorado Energy Forum is expected to release a report on the state's projected demand for electricity and transmission as early as next week.
Bruce Smith, executive director of the forum and a former director of the utilities commission, said the meeting was "timely."
"It is time to start talking actively now so we don't find ourselves in a situation where we don't have adequate generation and transmission," Smith said during his presentation to the task force.
Electricity in Colorado is typically generated at power plants by burning fuel such as coal or natural gas, or at farms that harness wind. Those plants often are in remote areas, so the electricity has to be carried in high-voltage power lines, or transmission lines, to towns and cities where it is eventually distributed to homes and businesses.
As the population in Colorado grows and more customers use appliances such as air conditioners, utilities expect the demand for electricity to increase. As a result, the state will need more power plants and transmission lines to cater to the demand.
Xcel, the state's largest electric utility, is on track to add 1,886 megawatts of power through 2012. One megawatt serves power to roughly 1,000 households.
The utility predicts there will be a significant requirement for transmission, said Sandra Johnson, Xcel's director of transmission asset management.
chakrabartyg@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2976
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