Rapid growth across parts of Northern Colorado is colliding with a growing challenge — being able to access enough electricity to support new homes and businesses.

Local leaders in Greeley say demand for power has increased significantly in recent decades. This is as technology becomes more integrated into everyday life, and it creates pressure on an electric grid that is struggling to keep pace with population growth and development.

“We are growing pretty rapidly,” said Don Threewitt, interim community and economic developer for the city of Greeley.

Threewitt said the state’s electric demand has shifted dramatically in the last decade, as residents rely more heavily on technology. From smartphones and electric vehicles to increasingly connected homes and workplaces, the demand for electricity is rising faster than Colorado’s ability to generate and deliver power.

“I don’t think the average Coloradan realizes how much more power is needed to accommodate the lifestyle, the work life and sort of how we live today,” Threewitt told CBS Colorado.

Greeley officials say the city has many of the ingredients needed to continue attracting growth, including available land, water resources and a stable workforce. However, Threewitt said access to electricity has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to accommodating more growth.

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans said the issue extends beyond Greeley and is affecting communities throughout Colorado.

“We don’t have enough power,” Evans told CBS Colorado.

Evans said power limitations are already influencing economic development decisions.

“I know of hundreds of jobs that Colorado has lost because a company that wanted to locate here couldn’t get the power,” Evans said.

Without additional electrical capacity, Evans warned that growth could slow substantially.

“(Without more power export) we can’t attract businesses; we can’t build new houses,” Evans said. “Really, growth comes to a screeching halt.”

Evans said he is working on legislation aimed at streamlining the process of generating and distributing power throughout the state, primarily through easing the process to receiving permits. Still, local leaders say addressing the challenge will require coordination among local governments, utilities, state officials and federal policymakers.

“It takes time, and it takes deliberate effort on a large group of people,” Threewitt said. “Let’s identify the need, provide the resources, and then get out of the way so it can get done.”

The challenge is particularly pressing in Greeley, where city officials say the population is growing between 1.5% and 3% annually. At the same time, planning and constructing the power lines needed to expand the electric grid can take between five and eight years.

Even those infrastructure projects depend on utilities having enough power available to distribute to customers.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Xcel Energy said the company is investing heavily to meet Colorado’s growing energy needs. The utility plans to invest $17.6 billion in Colorado through 2030 to modernize and expand the electric grid and add new energy resources.

The spokesperson said Xcel’s “Colorado Distribution System Plan” includes new substations, transformers and feeder projects in the Greeley area. The company is also adding 400 megawatts of dispatchable power at Fort St. Vrain and another 100 megawatts at Fort Lupton, both of which serve Greeley and Weld County.

According to the statement, Xcel has identified resource adequacy as a growing concern for several years and has proposed multiple solutions, including a near-term procurement plan designed to add 3,800 megawatts of new generation capacity. The company said the plan could save customers nearly $3 billion by utilizing expiring tax credits.

Xcel also plans to file additional proposals addressing both short-term and long-term power needs. The utility company said it remains committed to working with regulators, local communities and policymakers to ensure reliable electric service while supporting economic growth across Colorado.

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii (AP) — The on-and-off eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano broke a record Monday with the number of periods it has produced fountains of lava since it began erupting in December 2024, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Monday marked 48 fountaining episodes, setting the record for any one eruption on Kilauea, said Katie Mulliken, a geologist and spokesperson with the observatory.

Episodes are separated by periods during which little to no lava erupts. Since lava is coming from the same vents in a crater at Kilauea’s summit, it is the same overall eruption, she said in an email.

There are several notable aspects of the current eruption, she said, including how accessible it is for viewing by residents and tourists. An eruption during the 1980s, in which 47 lava fountaining episodes occurred over about 3 1/2 years, occurred in a more remote area, she said.

The ongoing eruption is also reshaping the topography at the summit, she said.

But the lava fountains also can impact neighboring communities with volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra.

Kilauea, located on Hawaii’s Big Island, is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

It’s one of the most legendary sights anywhere in the State of Idaho! The Perrine Bridge, in Twin Falls, Idaho!

If you have ever driven through Twin Falls, odds are that you have crossed it and maybe didn’t know its significance. The bridge is 1,500 feet long and it offers amazing views for drivers and pedestrians alike. That said, you can hike anywhere along the canyon and the bridge itself, from afar, is a sight!

Over the years, it has become a popular destination for base jumping! There’s nothing illegal about it, even Visit Idaho brags about its appeal for the adventure enthusiasts!

One base jumper that has made a real name for himself online for jumping the Perrine Bridge has taken his viral hobby to a new level–this time, but having a ‘colorful creature’ join him!

Take a look at these amazing shots captured as this Idahoan did the craziest leap imaginable! 

Do you think you could do something like this? 

One can find dozens and dozens of videos of base jumping from the bridge online but this one might just be the most unique and the most Idaho of them all.

We suppose if base jumping is such a normal activity for this guy, there are only so many ways to ‘spice it up’. He certainly found one!

You can watch this brave bridge-jumper and his unicorn friend take a leap of faith, below! Video posted by Jonathan Cox and DZONE Skydiving!