Just Transition or Just Disregard? Pueblo’s Promise Wiped Away

By now, you may have heard how disappointed, frustrated, and downright angry we are with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and their so-called “Just Transition.” What was supposed to be a promise of fairness has turned into a debacle on course to do irreparable economic damage to Pueblo—and by extension, to Colorado as a whole.

I may have gotten ahead of myself. Let’s back up. The PUC is charged with making sure Coloradans receive safe, reliable, and reasonably priced utility services. It regulates electricity, natural gas, and certain transportation and telecommunications providers, setting rates, overseeing service quality, and requiring accountability to the public. At its core, the PUC’s mission is supposed to be balancing the interests of consumers, communities, and utilities—protecting affordability and reliability while guiding the state’s energy future in the public interest.

And in Colorado, “Just Transition” isn’t just an idea—it’s the law. Passed in 2019, it was meant to ensure that coal-dependent workers and communities were not treated as collateral damage in the shift to clean energy. The law created a framework to help workers with retraining and income support, and to help communities like Pueblo, Craig, Hayden, and Trinidad replace lost tax base and diversify their economies. At its heart, the law was a promise: climate policy must balance environmental goals with economic stability, family-sustaining jobs, and respect for the communities that powered Colorado for generations.That promise has been broken—deliberately.

Pueblo gave more to Colorado’s clean energy transition than any other community. Closing Comanche alone cuts more than 20% of the state’s carbon emissions. No community has sacrificed more, and no community has been treated with more disregard. We agreed to this transition only because we were promised replacement generation and the jobs and tax revenues to offset a billion-dollar loss. What we got instead was a bait-and-switch.

I was proud to serve on the Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC), which, after hundred of hours and 11 months of work, produced a detailed, data-driven plan for how to do this right. The findings were not ambiguous:-

• Jobs: The closure of Comanche 3 represents an annual economic hit of more than $196 million to Pueblo, including the loss of hundreds of high-wage, career-level jobs.-

• Tax Base: Without replacement, Pueblo stands to lose over $845 million in tax revenues by 2070—funds that pay for schools, fire protection, hospitals, and public safety.-

• Solutions: PIESAC concluded plainly: “of all the technologies we studied, only advanced nuclear generation will make Pueblo whole and also provide a path to prosperity.” Nuclear would support 200–300 permanent high-paying jobs and generate roughly $95 million annually in local property taxes.

Our #2 recommendation was a combined cycle natural gas plant with carbon capture—still dispatchable, still reliable, and able to provide about 20–25 long-term jobs and $16.5 million in annual tax revenue. By contrast, solar and storage would leave us with a handful of non-union jobs and less than $2 million annually in property taxes.

The PUC ignored it all. They brushed aside testimony from community leaders, dismissed the PIESAC report, and skipped over the hard numbers on jobs, wages, and tax base. In doing so, they didn’t just fail Pueblo—they shredded the very intent of the Just Transition Plan itself.And here’s the kicker: Pueblo’s vision wasn’t just a “special interest.” It reflected the will of the people. A scientific poll conducted by Keating Research—a firm widely respected across Colorado—found that 66% of Pueblo County voters support advanced nuclear as a replacement for Comanche 3, and 74% support a new gas plant with carbon capture. Those numbers don’t just show support; they show a mandate.

And then came the insult on top of injury: the Near-Term Procurement. A process rushed through to chase federal tax credits, ensured Pueblo couldn’t possibly benefit. Dispatchable projects—the very lifeline we were promised—were written out of consideration. With one decision, the PUC made it crystal clear: Pueblo provides the sacrifice, and someone else gets the investment.We are glad this issue is finally being talked about. But as you hear these conversations, pay attention: are they talking about how to replace Comanche and protect communities, or are they keeping it about politics, not people? That distinction matters.

Let’s call this what it is. This isn’t oversight. This isn’t a mistake. This is disregard with malice, written into policy by a three-person Commission that no one elected.If “Just Transition” doesn’t mean protecting jobs and keeping local tax bases whole, then it is nothing more than a slogan. The PUC as the Governor’s appointees turned a promise of fairness into a betrayal of the very communities that powered Colorado for generations.Pueblo did our part. We kept our end of the bargain. They didn’t.So let’s stop pretending this is about carbon or community. If it’s not about honoring promises to workers and communities, then what exactly is it about?

Sara Blackhurst