Overview
Platte River Power Authority was formed by Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland to provide reliable wholesale electric service to northern Colorado. As a community-owned, not-for-profit organization, our priorities are guided by the communities we serve and the Board of Directors that represents them.
The 2026 Strategic Plan builds on the foundation established in 2023 and reflects progress made toward a reliable, affordable and noncarbon energy future. The updated plan incorporates board direction, staff expertise and lessons learned as the energy landscape continues to evolve.
Maintaining reliability and affordability while advancing environmental responsibility remains central to our mission. The 2026 Strategic Plan provides a framework for balancing those priorities while strengthening partnerships, supporting organizational resilience and preparing for the future needs of our owner communities.
Vision, mission and values
Vision: To be a respected leader and responsible power provider improving the region’s quality of life through a more efficient and sustainable energy future.
Mission: While driving utility innovation, Platte River will safely provide reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy and services to the owner communities of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland.
Values
- Safety
- Integrity
- Respect
- Service
- Sustainability
- Innovation
- Operational excellence
Strategic initiatives
The 2026 Strategic Plan is organized around three strategic initiatives that support Platte River’s mission and guide decision-making across the organization.
Portfolio diversification, integration and optimization
Partnership, engagement and alignment
Organizational dynamics
Resource Diversification Policy update
The Resource Diversification Policy serves as a key policy framework supporting Platte River’s long-term energy strategy.
The updated policy reflects progress made since its original adoption and aligns with the priorities outlined in the 2026 Strategic Plan. The policy reaffirms Platte River’s commitment to a noncarbon energy future while recognizing the importance of balancing environmental responsibility, reliability, affordability and technology readiness.
FAQs
The 2026 Strategic Plan refresh reflects the progress Platte River has made since the 2023 Strategic Plan was adopted, while incorporating expertise from staff and direction from the Board of Directors. The update ensures the organization’s priorities continue to reflect today’s energy landscape, emerging technologies and the needs of Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland.
The 2026 Strategic Plan builds on the foundation established in 2023 and refines Platte River’s strategic priorities based on organizational progress, industry changes and lessons learned over the past three years.
The updated plan focuses on three strategic initiatives:
- Portfolio diversification, integration and optimization
- Partnership, engagement and alignment
- Organizational dynamics
Together, these initiatives guide how Platte River will continue delivering reliable, environmentally responsible and financially sustainable energy while preparing for future opportunities and challenges.
What did not change is equally important: Platte River remains committed to a noncarbon energy future and to serving its owner communities with reliable and affordable electricity.
Yes.
The goal of a noncarbon energy future remains unchanged, and Platte River’s leadership in this effort is unmatched by other generation and transmission utilities in the region.
The 2026 Strategic Plan continues to support long-term decarbonization efforts while recognizing the importance of balancing environmental responsibility with electric system reliability, customer affordability and responsible stewardship of public resources.
Platte River has made significant progress since the Resource Diversification Policy was adopted in 2018 through investments in renewable energy, energy storage, regional market participation and other initiatives that support the transition to a noncarbon energy future.
Additional information about Platte River’s environmental responsibility efforts are found here.
The strategic plan establishes Platte River’s organizational priorities and strategic initiatives.
The Resource Diversification Policy provides board-level guidance that helps direct implementation of energy resource decisions and supports the goals outlined in the strategic Plan.
Together, they provide a framework for balancing reliability, affordability and environmental responsibility while serving the owner communities.
The Resource Diversification Policy is being updated to reflect the significant progress Platte River has made since the policy was originally adopted in 2018 and to align the policy with the 2026 Strategic Plan.
Board policies provide direction for how strategic initiatives are implemented. Updating the policy helps ensure that it accurately reflects Platte River’s current position, priorities and future work.
No.
The updated policy does not change Platte River’s commitment to a noncarbon energy future. Instead, it reflects a realistic and responsible path forward that balances decarbonization efforts with affordability, reliability and commercially available technology.
The end goal has not changed. The updated policy provides flexibility in how Platte River reaches that goal.
Since the Resource Diversification Policy was adopted in 2018, Platte River has made substantial progress toward a noncarbon energy future. However, experience gained through planning, market participation and resource development has shown that additional flexibility is needed to maintain reliability and affordability while continuing decarbonization efforts.
Removing the 2030 deadline does not change the organization’s commitment to a noncarbon future. Rather, it recognizes that achieving that goal must be balanced with maintaining reliable electric service and keeping electricity affordable for the communities Platte River serves. Pursuing decarbonization without regard to technology readiness, wholesale system costs or customer rate impacts could place unnecessary financial burdens on customers.
The updated policy allows Platte River to continue making steady progress toward a noncarbon future while considering reliability, affordability and evolving technology.
Current uncertainties related to technology readiness, long-duration energy storage, market conditions and project costs make it difficult to responsibly establish a firm date.
Instead, the updated approach focuses on continuing progress toward a noncarbon future while maintaining the flexibility needed to make sound decisions on behalf of the communities Platte River serves.
Platte River’s long-term goal remains a noncarbon energy future. However, fully noncarbon dispatchable resources and long-duration energy storage technologies are not yet widely available at the scale needed to reliably serve our communities.
In the meantime, natural gas-fired aeroderivative turbines provide important flexibility by responding quickly when wind and solar output changes. These units operate only when needed to maintain reliability or support regional grid operations.
Compared to coal-fired generation, these turbines produce significantly lower emissions and are expected to operate far fewer hours throughout the year, helping support continued progress toward Platte River’s noncarbon goals.
Customers depend on affordable and reliable electricity every day.
At the same time, the cost of new energy infrastructure, equipment, labor and materials has increased significantly in recent years. As the energy transition continues, Platte River and its owner communities believe it is important to make progress in a way that maintains dependable service and supports community affordability.
The 2026 Strategic Plan reflects this balanced approach by emphasizing reliability, affordability and environmental responsibility together.
More resources
Environmental responsibility
Platte River continually demonstrates a strong commitment to environmental responsibility while safely providing reliable and financially sustainable energy.
Current energy production
Near-real-time view of the energy produced by Platte River. Energy is displayed through megawatts and percentages. Data shown will automatically update every 10-15 minutes.
Learn about Platte River’s VPP
The first virtual power plant (VPP) programs will launch in late 2026, enabling customers in Platte River’s owner communities to participate directly in the energy transition.
Per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Platte River Power Authority will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with a disability who need assistance. Please email us at [email protected] or call 970-226-4000. “Walk-in” requests for auxiliary aids and services may be honored to the extent possible but can be unavailable if advance notice is not provided.
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