Dear Mayor Arndt and Utilities Director Minor –

The FCSG and Northern Colorado Partners for Clean Energy (NCP4CE) continue to believe that the PRPA should complete its Integrated Resource Planning process before making any decisions on moving forward with a new gas-fired power plant or any other “dispatchable capacity.”  Contrary to PRPA management’s assertion that a new gas plant will not become a stranded asset, we think that’s a real possibility.  The plant will be depreciated over a period of 30 years.  The feasibility and costs of running it on either renewable natural gas or Hydrogen have not been evaluated.  If those costs prove to be prohibitively high compared to other options, ratepayers in Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and Estes Park could see very high electric bills far into the future.

We are proposing that Resolution 11-23, which you will be voting on tomorrow, be amended as shown below.  I have provided both the current version of the resolution and our mark-ups:

Current version:

By this resolution, the board of directors of Platte River Power Authority formally expresses support for Platte River’s efforts to proactively develop the dispatchable capacity necessary to protect system reliability and financial sustainability (including battery storage systems, virtual power plant capabilities, and flexible aeroderivative combustion turbine technology) as Platte River continues to pursue the Resource Diversification Policy goal of a 100% noncarbon resource mix by 2030.

Proposed version:

By this resolution, the board of directors of Platte River Power Authority formally expresses support for Platte River’s efforts to proactively develop complete its full IRP with feedback from independent experts including NREL and CSU’s Energy Initiative to determine the dispatchable capacity necessary to protect system reliability and financial sustainability (including battery storage systems, virtual power plant capabilities, and flexible aeroderivative combustion turbine technology) as Platte River continues to pursue the Resource Diversification Policy goal of a 100% noncarbon resource mix by 2030. For actions that must for timing reasons precede completion of the IRP, Platte River activities shall be limited to those in support of permitting, and Platte River will not engage in any further commitments without further board approval.

Please exercise your oversight authority on behalf of both the PRPA and the ratepayers in Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, and Estes Park.  No new power plant should be developed before the 2024 IRP has been completed and thoroughly reviewed.

Sincerely

Kevin Cross, FCSG Convener