Response to editorial on KKR buyout of TXU

• Tom McKinnon
• Denver Post

As pointed out in The Denver Post, when Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company (KKR) and its partners complete the buyout of TXU Energy the new owners will scrap the existing plans to build eight coal-fired generating stations (Editorial, 2/27/2007). Although there are environmental benefits to the KKR scheme, the real reason they are walking away from coal is simple economics; the financial wizards at KKR know that the coming greenhouse gas regulations will make coal-fired electricity uneconomical relative to renewables and energy efficiency. Unfortunately, in Colorado our utilities and political leaders are not so enlightened. Xcel and Tri-State are charging ahead with planning and building unnecessary coal plants that will saddle the rate payers with billions in stranded costs when these monstrosities are abandoned in the near future. I urge all Colorado ratepayers to contact the Public Utilities Commission and Governor Ritter and tell them "NO!" to more coal in Colorado. Sincerely, J. Thomas McKinnon Professor Department of Chemical Engineering Colorado School of Mines