Colorado PUC moves to give extra financial help to towns losing coal-fired power plants, but there’s a catch

The plants must shut down as planned, which is complicated by Trump administration actions to bolster the coal industry

he Colorado Public Utilities Commission moved Wednesday to provide more financial aid to coal communities to help in their economic transition with one caveat: Their coal-fired power plants actually have to close.

The commission voted to boost compensation for lost taxes by 13% to more than $230 million and increase the bonuses to energy developers locating projects in coal communities.

“The commission recognized how challenging the transition is for communities and workers,” said Wade Buchanan, director of the Colorado Office of Just Transition, the agency created to help communities as coal-fired power generating plants and the mines that fuel them close.

“These communities need support while diversifying their economies as they lose their main economic drivers,” Buchanan said.

Colorado’s six coal-fired power plants are slated to close by 2031, but recent events led the commission to say that aid depends upon on-time closures and that extending the life of a coal plant could lead to reduction in assistance.