Northern Colorado’s red-hot growth is running into a very basic problem: there may not be enough electricity to keep all those new lights on.
City leaders are warning that the region’s surge in homes, factories and data centers could slow or even stall this year because the grid is struggling to keep up. Without more dispatchable generation and the transmission lines to move that power, projects that promise new jobs and badly needed housing could be delayed or pushed to other states.
“We are growing pretty rapidly,” Don Threewitt, interim community and economic developer for Greeley, said as local officials outlined how electrification, from electric vehicles to always-on workplaces, has pushed demand past what the current system comfortably supports. City planners estimate population growth at roughly 1.5% to 3% a year, and they note that planning and building the lines, substations and other gear to serve that growth can take five to eight years. In a statement to CBS Colorado, Xcel Energy said it intends to add more dispatchable capacity at regional sites and has proposed a near-term procurement to bring thousands of megawatts online.
Where the power will come from
Xcel’s investor materials outline a hefty spending plan: about $17.6 billion in base capital expenditures for its Colorado utility between 2026 and 2030, aimed at generation, transmission and distribution upgrades. The company says that money would go toward new substations, transformers and feeder work to reinforce distribution systems in fast-growing communities…