The PSA contemplates the parties working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to protect the historic flow regime by adding an alternate use of instream flow in the 2.4 mile reach of the Colorado between the current diversion and the plant discharge to the existing non-consumptive rights. The Coalition views the State of Colorado
The Shoshone Outage Protocol (“ShOP”) is an important agreement and when implemented, it has added flow that helps to protect river conditions. However, the ShOP Agreement has a limited term and falls short of permanently protecting the Shoshone flows. With a duration of only 32 more years, ShOP would not guarantee Colorado River flow security in
The proposed $99 million PSA to acquire the Shoshone water rights is no small price tag, but the one-time investment to protect Colorado River flows in perpetuity is a durable, actional investment in Colorado’s future – providing greater certainty and security for future Colorado residents, farmers, ranchers, recreators, and the native fish and wildlife relying
The purchase price for the Shoshone rights as agreed on in the PSA is $99 million.
The Shoshone Water Rights Preservation Coalition is an inclusive, transparent, and diverse group of stakeholders committed to permanent protection of Shoshone’s essential flows and the upstream and downstream benefits the flows provide to all Colorado citizens. Seeds of this coalition took root when West Slope entities signed the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement (CRCA) in 2013. Since then,
A finalized agreement will only transfer ownership of the Shoshone water rights, not the Shoshone Hydroelectric Plant. The Colorado River District will make the purchased Shoshone water rights available to Xcel through a permanent lease, continuing the plant’s clean energy production for Colorado’s electric grid.
Currently owned by Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, Shoshone water rights call up to 1,408 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) to Xcel’s Shoshone Hydroelectric Plant in Glenwood Canyon for electricity generation, providing power for 15,000 customers in Colorado before flows return to the river for the benefit
Permanent protection of the Shoshone Flows will secure multiple benefits to the West Slope and across the state such as: Agricultural Benefits: Shoshone flows support Colorado’s $11.9 billion agricultural economy in a number of important ways. Water security for Western Slope agriculture is intimately linked to the Upper Colorado Endangered Fish Recovery Program where continued cooperative water management
The parties who signed the historic PSA include the Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), its parent company Xcel Energy, and the Colorado River District. The multi-year campaign to bring Shoshone permanency to the finish line via fundraising, public outreach, and an Instream Flow Agreement and change case, however, is a broad-based, statewide stakeholder partnership
On December 19, 2023, the Colorado River District and Public Service Company of Colorado/Xcel Energy signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) to transfer ownership of the historic Shoshone water rights to the Colorado River District. These rights command significant flows upstream and downstream of the Shoshone Hydropower Plant on the Upper Colorado River in