# Baca County, Colorado: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Springfield Baca County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Baca County is home to Springfield and Walsh. Next door, Las Animas County has 202 MW of planned generation. Unemployment was 3.3% in August 2026, against 2.0% in 2019. Employers here counted 1,164 jobs in 2025, up 4.7% from 2019. Its power plants have 8 MW of capacity, 49% of it solar. +4.7% total jobs since 2019, now 1,164 8 MW of operating power plants, mostly solar 15.05¢ per kWh for Public Service Co of Colorado residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Baca County Baca County is home to Springfield and Walsh. Springfield1,293 residents Walsh513 residents Pritchett106 residents Vilas99 residents Campo95 residents Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Baca County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Colorado | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 3,478 | 3,347 | ▼ 3.8% | 56th of 64 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,112 | 1,164 | ▲ 4.7% | 32nd of 64 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $33,365 | $41,060 | ▲ 23.1% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 25 | 59 | ▲ 136.0% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.0% | 3.3% | ▲ 1.3pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Public Service Co of Colorado is the largest utility serving Baca County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.05¢/kWh in 2024. 3,347 people live here, down 3.8% since 2020. ## Who powers Baca County ### Utilities with service territory in Baca County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Public Service Co of Colorado | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,365,053 | 15.05¢ | 44% | | Southeast Colorado Power Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 8,148 | 17.22¢ | 55% | | Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (OK) | Cooperative | Bundled | 9 | 16.03¢ | 67% | | City of Springfield - (CO) | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Solar | 4 MW | 49% | | Petroleum | 3 MW | 33% | | Wind | 2 MW | 18% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Vilas Solar Array | Onsite Partners, LLC | Solar | 4 MW | 2017 | | Springfield (CO) | City of Springfield - (CO) | Petroleum | 3 MW | 1950 | | Springfield Wind | Arkansas River Power Authority | Wind | 2 MW | 2004 | ## The Baca County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 1,164 | $41,060 | 1.00 | | Construction | 59 | $52,200 | 0.96 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Baca County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Baca County. Colorado has 25 local measures on record statewide. ## Baca County and its neighbors Of the 7 counties that border Baca County, Las Animas County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Baca County | 3,347 | ▲ 4.7% | 8 MW | — | — | — | | Bent County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/bent-county) | 5,716 | ▲ 4.5% | 81 MW | 2 MW | — | — | | Cimarron County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/oklahoma/cimarron-county) OK | 2,059 | ▼ 16.0% | — | — | — | — | | Las Animas County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/las-animas-county) | 14,391 | ▼ 7.6% | 179 MW | 202 MW | — | — | | Morton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/morton-county) KS | 2,470 | ▼ 8.6% | — | — | — | — | | Prowers County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/prowers-county) | 11,884 | ▲ 2.8% | 248 MW | 5 MW | — | — | | Stanton County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/kansas/stanton-county) KS | 1,986 | ▼ 19.0% | 26 MW | — | — | — | | Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/new-mexico/union-county) NM | 3,844 | ▼ 8.9% | — | 190 MW | — | — | ## More of Colorado [All Colorado countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado)[Las Animas County14,391 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/las-animas-county)[Prowers County11,884 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/prowers-county)[Bent County5,716 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/bent-county) ## Baca County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Baca County, Colorado? 4 utilities have service territory in Baca County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Public Service Co of Colorado, Southeast Colorado Power Assn, Tri-County Electric Coop, Inc (OK), City of Springfield - (CO). The largest, Public Service Co of Colorado, charged residential customers 15.05¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Baca County? 3 operating plants with 8 MW of capacity. The largest is Vilas Solar Array (4 MW, solar). ### Are there data centers in Baca County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Baca County. The nearest activity on record is next door in Las Animas County. ### Is Baca County adding jobs? Employers counted 1,164 jobs in 2025 against 1,112 in 2019 (+4.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 25 to 59. ### Does Baca County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Baca County. Colorado has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/colorado/baca-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).