Northwest of Pueblo Memorial Airport sits one of Southern Colorado’s important energy resources: the Pueblo Airport Generating Station, or PAGS for short. Since 2012, PAGS has served as a dependable source of electricity for more than 100,000 Black Hills Energy customers across Southern Colorado.

Built to support long term reliability, affordability and grid stability, PAGS is a critical part of our commitment to delivering safe, reliable, cost-effective energy.

Together, PAGS’s three natural gas units generate 420 megawatts of electricity. For customers, that means a dependable source of power that can respond quickly during high‑demand periods. The third unit — an LM6000 turbine that came online in 2017— is designed to start up rapidly, helping stabilize the system during extreme weather or sudden changes in customer demand.

All this makes PAGS the backbone of our electric system and important energy asset for Southern Colorado, and the people that live there. “It makes me feel good, especially being born and raised here. I have friends, family and colleagues that have important tasks that they need to complete,” said Jacob Elich, a water treatment specialist and continuous emissions monitoring systems at PAGS, and lifelong resident of Pueblo. “We’re providing reliable energy for them to do their jobs and live their lives.”

Upgrades built for reliability

More than 100,000 customers rely on Black Hills Energy to deliver the safe, reliable electric service they need to power their daily lives. PAGS ranks among Colorado’s top producing power plants and has consistently delivered dependable energy to communities across Southern Colorado since 2012. The facility is still going strong and keeping it in top condition is a top priority for us.

“Upgrading core systems — whether it’s turbine components, controls, or safety equipment — means customers have a more reliable, more resilient source of power they can count on every day and especially during emergencies,” said Ethan Rasmuson, plant manager.

To keep PAGS in optimized condition, we complete major upgrades and overhauls in 2024 and 2025. Our goal was to strengthen reliability and ensure customers will have the energy they need for years to come. Some of our upgrades included:

• Modernizing the plant’s T3000 control system, the technology that governs how PAGS operates, to reduce downtime, simplify maintenance and enhance the station’s cybersecurity protections.
• Strengthening the natural gas pipelines that supply the facility to extend the life of this critical infrastructure.
• Installing a new fire pump controller to improve reliability and worker safety. 
• Overhauling one of the plant’s turbine units to restore peak operating efficiency and improve its ability to respond quickly during high demand.

These improvements have kept PAGS at the head of the class in terms of reliability, safety and efficiency.

“We’re an ever-evolving plant. Even though we still do the same thing. We are continuously upgrading our control systems and looking at any new technology that is available to us to provide that safe and reliable energy,” said Ryan Kelley, senior instrumentation and electrical specialist.

“We do it all for the customer,” added Elich. “To keep everything on and normal life moving forward. That’s why we invest in the infrastructure; so everybody has reliable service.”

Ready when you need it

This 40 MW high-efficiency peaking facility is an important part of our overall energy portfolio. The LM6000 natural-gas powered turbine provides an additional 15% power reserve, creating system stability and reliability.

This means that we have a greater ability to serve our customers during high-demand periods, like the hottest days of summer, when electricity use peaks at levels that would otherwise strain our normal operating capacity.

Additionally, the LM6000 has a built-in “black start” capability, which means that the PAGS facility can restart itself without relying on external power in the rare event of a major, widespread outage. “If there’s a major storm or anything that takes out power in the area, we can bring the lights back on,” said Kelley. Many facilities require power from the grid to return to operation after outages. “Our units also provide very quick, reactive energy for the grid. So, if everything goes dark, we can bring it back up quickly.” 

In these scenarios, like a widespread outage caused by severe winter storms, we can provide power to nearby facilities around so they can power on. It’s all part of our strategy to keep the grid resilient in the most challenging conditions.

A strong community partner

With its ability to support renewable energy, provide fast backup power and restart the grid during rare emergencies, PAGS is one of Southern Colorado’s most important energy assets. “We’re proud of the role PAGS plays in Pueblo and across the region,” said Erik Anderson, general manager of electric operations. “PAGS provides a stable foundation, balancing wind and solar, responding quickly when weather changes, supporting good paying local jobs and contributing meaningful annual tax revenue to the community.”

PAGS also provides meaningful economic benefits, contributing substantial annual tax revenue, including sales and use taxes to the City of Pueblo and property tax revenues to Pueblo County, helping fund local schools, public safety and essential community services. 

“We’re an important resource for the community of Pueblo. That’s including all the hospitals, schools and homes,” said Elich. “We keep the lights on, heat on and AC on. It’s great knowing that we’re providing reliability for all those people in the community.”

Reliability starts here

Every day, we deliver the safe, reliable energy that keeps our communities moving, growing and thriving. With long term planning and smart system upgrades, we’re investing in a safer, stronger energy future for the place we’re proud to call home. Learn more about how we're strengthening Colorado's energy systems.