This Fall there are many ways to get involved in the process to decommission the Martin Drake Coal fired Power Plant.

UPAC (Utilities Policy Advisory Committee)

UPAC is a Utilities Board directed advisory committee that reviews, analyzes and provides recommendations to the Utilities Board on specific issues or policies. UPAC is charged with crafting the “Energy Vision” that guides the EIRP, as well as making recommendations about modeling scenarios, public engagement, and other aspects of the EIRP. This group meets monthly Feb-May to draft the “Energy Vision” that will guide the upcoming Electric Integrated Resource Plan (EIRP).Link to 2016 (current) Energy Vision

We need to give public comments at this meeting. UPAC meetings are the first Wednesday of each month at 8 a.m. in the Blue River Board Room on the fifth floor of the South Tower in the Plaza of the Rockies (121 S. Tejon Street). All meetings are open to the public. Citizens are invited to comment during general discussion near the end of each meeting.

Electric Integrated Resource Planning (EIRP)

CSU’s EIRP is a long-term strategic plan used to guide resource acquisition, conservation and demand-side management decisions to meet customer electric demand. The EIPR is required to be updates every 5 years. The EIRP process combines technical analysis and public participation to ensure a low cost, reliable, and environmentally conscious electric supply

The objective of the EIRP is to evaluate and manage all resource options in order to determine not just a least cost plan, but a balanced set of new resources based on the projected demand forecast, environmental considerations, renewable energy goals, and more. Link to 2016 EIRP

We need you to attend the first public meeting for the EIRP to show community support for transitioning off of coal to clean energy! There will be time for public comment and your voice will be critical to ensure that this EIRP includes progress on retiring the Martin Drake Coal Plant as well as the Nixon Coal plant, avoiding new fracked gas plants and investing in wind and solar energy.

What: EIRP Public Workshop

When: Wednesday August 28th 6-8pm

Where: Conservation and Environmental Center, 2855 Mesa Road Colorado Springs

There will be a prep session if you are interested in giving public comment at the EIRP public workshop. Join us on August 19th from 6:30-8pm at Jack Quinn’s downtown for a Clean Energy Happy Hour with a guest speaker! Appetizers on us- Beer on you!  

Utility Board Meetings

The Colorado Springs Utility Board meets every third Wednesday of the month at 1pm in the Blue River Board Room on the fifth floor of the South Tower in the Plaza of the Rockies (121 S. Tejon St) The board meets monthly to discuss utilities related policy and information. All meetings are open to the public. Citizens are invited to comment during public comments at the beginning of each meeting. The most important meeting of the EIRP process is Wednesday, 6/19 @ 1pm. This is one big last opportunity to provide public input on the EIRP process, including pushing for a meaningful public participation process, accurate pricing for renewables in the technical models, retirement of Drake with no new gas plants, and to bring community values to the table before the Board formally votes on the EIRP process. Then we’ll have to do all of this again throughout the actual EIRP process that goes through August 2020.

More Ways you can get involved:

• Join the 350 Colorado Springs email list to get updates about our events by filling out your contact information at this link and select “Colorado Springs email list” to get the latest updates and events.
• Visit our Facebook Events page for our next meet-up and action.  Generally, we host regular actions in the community and meetings with our coalition members.

• Spread the Word: Share events and information through email and social media to keep others & us informed.  We’d love to work together!  Please share ideas about how we can multiply our efforts.  A couple ways to stay in touch:

• • ‘Like’ us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/350coloradosprings
  • Follow us on Twitter @350ColoSprings

If you have questions, ideas, or want to talk directly with the local team, please email coloradosprings@350colorado.org

We look forward to hearing from you!

More information: How much are we paying to burn coal in Colorado Springs? 

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