Our plan for the future
Ensuring reliability into the future
Tri-State and our members are building an electric system for the future that maintains reliability and enhances resilience at competitive rates for our membership. As part of Tri-State’s ongoing system planning processes, we perform detailed modeling to identify the types and locations of new resources that will advance our mission to serve our members a reliable, affordable and responsible supply of electricity.
Voice your support for Tri-State’s plan to ensure reliable, responsible power
We all know how reliable power is critical to our rural way of life. Tri-State has filed a preferred portfolio with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (Commission) that preserves reliability at the least cost, while increasing renewable energy supply and decreasing emissions.
Tri-State’s preferred portfolio, which we have asked the Commission to approve, is central to delivering a responsible electricity system for the future. Our preferred portfolio presents the least-cost mix of diverse resources, including new wind and solar power projects, our first battery storage systems, and a new natural gas power plant with hydrogen-blend capability, to reliably serve growing rural energy needs. Our planning demonstrates that we will always have the power our members need, even during extreme weather events, and meet all emissions reduction and renewable energy requirements.
You can easily share your support through the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
It’s all in the mix
Tri-State’s plan develops a portfolio of resources that meets both industry-standard reliability metrics and industry-leading heightened extreme weather reliability metrics in addition to state environmental requirements and does so at the lowest cost.
The steps below are part of Tri-State’s all-of-the-above generation mix, which includes diverse technologies and locations that promote system reliability, resilience and affordability.
Tri-State will:
- Pursue bids for 1,350 MW of new renewable, hybrid and standalone short-term storage resources.
- Select a 307 MW natural gas combustion turbine facility with hydrogen-blend capability.
- Replace combustion turbines at an existing natural gas facility to restore the facility to a nameplate capacity of 281 MW. These combustion turbines will also be hydrogen-blend capable.
- Proceed with the retirements of Craig Station Unit 1 at the end of 2025 and Units 2 and 3 in 2028, and Springerville Station Unit 3 in 2031.
Dependability for the road ahead
Due to the significant increase in renewable energy on the grid, targeted dispatchable projects are critical for shoring-up capacity during times of high demand, low renewable output, or extreme weather conditions, ensuring we meet our reliability planning standards.
Supporting Tri-State’s significant investment in renewable resources is a 307 MW natural gas combustion turbine plant in Moffat County, which will be hydrogen-blend capable.
This combustion turbine gas plant Tri-State will provide significant operational flexibility to ensure reliability.
This facility will also maintain investments that support local communities in the Moffat County area as the coal-fired Craig Station retires in September 2028.
Of our members’ energy mix will
come from clean sources in 2030
In avoided transmission cost by
leveraging existing projects
Reductions in greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030*