The Fort Collins Sustainability Group appreciates the memo that the Fort Collins Energy Board sent to City Council last Thursday. In that memo, the Energy Board advised Council to ask the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) for any technical reviews that might already have been performed of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by third party organizations such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Additionally, the Energy Board advised Council to ask that such a review be conducted if none are available.
Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy, of which the FCSG is a member, has made the same ask previously. We regard a third party review by a respected organization such as NREL as essential to restoring the public’s trust in both the PRPA’s planning process and to the City’s oversight of that process. We believe it would be best for this review to be performed under the direction of our Utilities Department, perhaps in conjunction with the Loveland, Longmont, and Estes Park Utility Departments.
The PRPA is a small utility with relatively limited capacity to plan for the clean energy transition on its own. So far, it has relied on industry consultants, a massive public relations effort funded by the ratepayers, and bullying by its CEO of anyone who questions their effort to push through approval of an expensive new fossil fuel project that will burden us with its costs and pollution for decades.
If the PRPA’s plan to build a new gas plant is truly optimal from an economic and environmental perspective, a review by NREL or another respected third party would affirm the need. If, on the other hand, the PRPA’s plan to build a new gas plant is not optimal, a third-party review could point to better solutions.
We ask that the City begin the process of developing and approving a resolution calling for a review of the PRPA’s IRP by NREL. That will require three councilmembers to request that such a resolution be developed under “other business” at the end of a council meeting. Taking this next step is critical to protecting the City’s interests in keeping electric rates as low as possible, protecting the health of City residents, and ensuring accountability from the power provider that we co-own together with Loveland, Longmont, and Estes Park.
Update:
Two councilmembers – Kelly Ohlson and Susan Gutowsky – expressed support for moving a resolution forward after community members commented at the Council meeting on Tuesday, October 1st. However, a third councilmember has not yet stepped up.
