Mayor Steve Bach said Thursday he hopes the City Council will reverse its decision to move ahead with plans to install “experimental” emissions control technology at the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown.
Last week, the council, acting as the Utilities Board, voted 7-2 to proceed with plans to install a pollutant-removing technology invented by Colorado Springs-based Neumann Systems Group. The technology is designed to clean sulfur dioxide from coal-burning power plants.
The council also voted to delay until 2013 a $500,000 study to look at decommissioning Drake, which was built in 1925 with two 2.5 megawatt generators. The plant
Councilwoman Angela Dougan and Brandy Williams voted in opposition.
“What’s the point of doing the study if they’re going to go ahead and upgrade the plant? It makes no sense,” Bach said on the Richard Randall radio show on KVOR.
Randall asked the mayor how he would respond to critics who would question why he was getting involved in matters pertaining to Colorado Springs Utilities when the utility company is overseen by council.
Bach pointed to his involvement with Memorial Health System, which is also under the purview of council.
“I think the voters expect the mayor to weigh in on matters of general importance to the community,” he said.
“I’m trying very hard not to interfere, not to micromanage or get in the way. But I think the future of our utilities is so important that folks, I think, want the mayor to weigh in,” he said.
Bach said he sent council a letter June 5 asking council to hold up on the expansion of Martin Drake “until we can, all of us, get comfortable with what’s the right direction.”
Bach said council has yet to respond to his letter.
“Respectfully, I’m just saying that I hope city council will reverse its recent decision to move forward with that technology until we can all be comfortable with the answer,” he said.
Williams said she’s heard unofficial discussions about reopening the debate over the power plant’s future.
“I know that phone calls are being made because people in the community are a little concerned what happened last time,” Williams said.
Williams said she was concerned that council didn’t have all of the research and information on the costs of shifting the Neumann system to the Ray Nixon Power Plant before it voted, and that it voted against the recommendation of Utilities’ staff to make the switch to Nixon while Drake’s future was discussed.
“We didn’t take our own best option,” Williams said.
However, Council President Scott Hente said he hasn’t heard any talks about taking another look at Drake and that he doesn’t think doing so would be fair to Neumann Systems Group.
“When we said, ‘Continue,’ I’m sure Neumann Systems started putting more money into it,” Hente said. “I’m not sure I want to keep jerking them around.”
Hente said Bach hasn’t spoken with him about the board’s decision.
Bach said the council’s decision reflects on past practices at City Hall.
“This is (an) example of whether we want to continue to do business as usual or whether we want to transform city government to be more efficient and more effective,” he said.
“I’m not talking about anything other than I believe we do not need Martin Drake Power Plant capacity. When we hit peak load in this city, we barely get into needing Martin Drake from what I’m told by people who are experts in that business outside of Colorado Springs Utilities. Now that needs to be fact checked,” he said.
“I’m also told that we could buy peak power from other providers, far less expensively than maintaining a 50-year-old power plant and upgrading it to the tune of $250 million. Shouldn’t we look at that?”
Utilities spokeswoman Natalie Eckhart said the $250 million cost is if Utilities converts both Drake and Nixon.
“The cost for Drake is $121 million,” she said.
Eckhart also said the community relies on Drake for its electricity.
“The statement that says that we barely use it is absolutely not true,” she said.
Council President Pro Tem Jan Martin said council decided July 18 that keeping Drake open offered the lowest costs for Utilities’ ratepayers.
“I think we just can’t continue to go back and forth on these decisions,” Martin said. “I’m comfortable we made the best decision last Wednesday to move forward with Neumann and Drake.”
No Really we don’t want or need your op. the COS Ulitites is doing a fine job of robbing our packets every six months with rate increases. So no we don’t want another money grabbing offical inept or I mean input.
BTW who is the puppet master calling the shots.
What I am told we can do this way from I am told we can do this way.
lol
Lilithia
A few points of clarification:
•Cost to implement NeuStream technology at Martin Drake power plant is $121 million, not $250 million
•Drake is a continuous supply of power for the community. It is not a “peaking” facility. Drake generates 254 megawatts of electricity reliably and economically. Comparing the cost of generating electricity across all of our assets, only Nixon Power plant is is less expensive (by less than $2 per mwh). Also, Drake has had continuous runs exceeding 200 days several times in recent years (a 200 day run is an industry benchmark of excellence.)
•About every five years we conduct an Electric Integrated Resource Study (a long-term strategic plan designed to ensure customers have reliable electricity at a reasonable price). The most recent study (which includes public input) was conducted last year and Drake continues to be identified as a viable electric generation facility for Colorado Springs 20 years into the future. More information on the EIRP is available at: http://www.csu.org/residential/energy/Pages/eirp.aspx
Natalie Eckhart
Colorado Springs Utilities
If the council is seriously considering shutting down or moving Drake, then they need to tell the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority to put a hold on the new Vineyard Data Center Park – as that project will be seriously impacted by such a plan.
bach only knows how to be a bully, always has been. he doesn’t need to stick his nose into places it doesn’t belong.
i know your developer buddies are salivating about building on that land…too bad for you.
Why would you want to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers and ratepayers money to look at shutting down a power plant that helps to keep our electric bill lower by generating our own power. If power is bought off the electric grid, then we are all at the mercy of the market. Alot of major cities have power plants within their city limits.
Money used to do a study like this would be better spent maintaining the streets in the city that are like driving your vehicle on a roller coaster track (the entire city, not just the Broadmoor area). Or, looking at a better East/West corridor for the city like the old railroad that parallels Constitution Ave.
Drake’s all right. But of the members of Young Money, I think I prefer Mack Maine, Tyga and Corey Gunz.
Yet another classic-case of politicians, being politicians:
The House of David calls for the IMMEDIATE resignations
of “Governor” John Hickenlooper, “Mayor” Steve Bach, and
ALL City/County “Officials”.
Non-compliance, shall result in severe and lasting consequences.
- “I think the voters expect the mayor to weigh in on matters of general importance to the community,”
- “I’m trying very hard not to interfere, not to micromanage or get in the way. But I think the future of our utilities is so important that folks, I think, want the mayor to weigh in,” he said
Based on the mayor’s quotes, and the comment listed above by Natalie Eckhart (thank you), it appears the mayor should educate himself before commenting on such matters. This would be more inline with what the “folks” want. As a ratepayer, I question his motives when he makes comments that are immediatedly refuted by CSU. Tell me again Mr Mayor, why is it in our best interest to close Drake? Currently you are 0-3…
This is not about anything more than Bach’s political positioning. He and his city committe know that Utility discussions in the city are purely emotional. This is just a part of his stage to garner public support for the 6 candidates he will promote for city council next April. He wants control of Utilities so he and his cronie city committee can dictate their narrow minded wants in the city. He can give his favors to the development community and screw the rest of us. Bach is a dangerous power monger who has zero interest in the city and 100% interest in his cronies and himself.
What a liar Bach is. Promise to not raise taxes and bullying Council to get the money through utilities. It’s still our money. Mayor Bach, you and your celebrity wife go enjoy retirement and let’s let some younger people run this City and make it a place people really wan to come and live.
Need to go nucular.
Every time Mayor Bach or Councilman Tim Lee talk about Utilities they say wrong information. Cost of project at Drake is wrong and reports on failed testing are wrong. Bach wants a stadium downtown so bad, and wants us ratepayers to pay for it. Stadium out East is already paid for and improvements have been done. Owners of SkySox arent going to move it unless the pot is sweet enough for them to not take a loss. Maybe the Mayors secret meetings with Excel that Gazette discovered reveal a plan to sell utilities and use the money to give to developers. Then we can be at the mercy of Excel and there Board of Directors whose only concern is to make there investors money. I say no. I like that we have the lowest rates in the Country. Get the private companies to pay, not the people.
If the best the Springs can get is Data Centers, its something. The Vineyard Project referenced is a 750 million dollar project, no chump change. Its happening because of our low utility rates. We need extra capacity to keep attracting centers and to handle all the people who are still moving here. My buddy works for Black Hills and even they say our utility company is one of the best in the Country. Lets leave it to the energy experts and not a guy whose trying to take over the world err i mean the City.