Preview of October 27 PUC Hearings on HB 1365: Everyone Gets a Swing at Xcel's New Plans
Very Brief Refresher on Xcel’s New Plans Xcel on Monday proposed four alternative plans to comply with HB 1365, after its original plan was rejected by the PUC last Thursday. The four alternative plans are similar. They all call for the retirement of four coal plants and top-of the line pollution controls for three others. […]
Running Timeline of HB 1365 Implementation Plan
August 13: Xcel filed its preferred emissions reductions plan (“plan 6.1E” or “preferred plan”). To read a brief summary of Plan 6.1E, click here. September 4: A group of independent power producers, electricity generators that compete with Xcel on the wholesale electricity market, challenged plan 6.1E, arguing that it is illegal because it included actions […]
Dead Again
New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie rekilled the Hudson River tunnel project. He had killed it before, a couple of weeks ago, but then promised to reconsider his decision at the request of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Christie did not want to burden New Jersey taxpayers with the cost overruns, now anticipated to be at least […]
Local Union’s Illicit Campaign “Mistake” Takes Member Teacher Funds for Granted
My friends at the Independence Institute yesterday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after a local teachers union small donor committee reported giving $2,000 to Congresswoman Betsy Markey’s campaign. The Longmont Times-Call reported on the story of the union’s “oversight.”
Colorado’s Clean Air Clean Jobs Act Will Accomplish Neither
by Amy Oliver Cooke and William Yeatman The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Xcel Energy, and Governor Bill Ritter colluded to fast track the misnamed Clean Air Clean Jobs Act (HB 1365), which effectively mandates coal-fired power plants to switch to natural gas. The trio essentially duped lawmakers into hasty passage of this bill. They […]
Amendment 63's Foes Only Want You for Your Body
by Brian Schwartz Should Colorado mandate that each car owner buy a comprehensive lifetime vehicle warranty? By the logic of a common argument against Colorado Amendment 63 and for mandatory medical insurance, the answer is “Yes.” Mandatory insurance treats your body as a means to political ends, rather than respecting your rights as an individual. […]
Hiking Up the South Sister
Last week’s weather report for this past weekend (October 23-24) predicted snow in the mountains, so Thursday, October 21, was my last opportunity this year to hike up the South Sister (also known as Charity). At 10,363 feet, the South Sister is the third highest mountain in Oregon and the highest you can hike without […]
Amendment 63′s Foes Only Want You for Your Body
Huffington Post: Should Colorado mandate that each car owner buy a comprehensive lifetime vehicle warranty? By the logic of a common argument against Colorado Amendment 63 and for mandatory medical insurance, the answer is “Yes.” Mandatory insurance treats your body as a means to political ends, rather than respecting your rights as an individual. An editorial in […]
Figuring Out the Union Cost Premium and Our Priorities for Public Education
One argument in education I’m already tired of is what’s the impact of union collective bargaining on student learning. Do unions help or hinder achievement? The problem is it’s an oversimplified question, as I once explained a long time ago.
But the ever insightful Mike Antonucci from the Education Intelligence Agency put forward an interesting twist […]
Review of October 26 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: No One Is Happy with Xcel’s New Plan, Including Xcel
Review October 25 Preview: Primer October 25 Review: PUC Deliberations Are Mere Industrial War by Other Means October 26 Preview: A New Plan October 26 Update: Xcel’s New Plan Is Actually an Old Plan No One Is Happy with Xcel’s New Plan, Including Xcel Not a single stakeholder readily supports Xcel’s new recommended strategy to […]
HB 1365 Update: Xcel's New Plan Is Actually an Old Plan
Xcel’s New Plan: It’s Actually an Old Plan Rather than offer a new HB 1365 implementation plan after the PUC rejected its preferred plan, Xcel settled on an old plan. Here’s a quick review of the process that led to the new/old plan. Last summer, Xcel considered nine scenarios to comply with HB 1365. In […]
Lest we forget…the horrendous consequences of ObamaCare
With the election just days away but passage of ObamaCare months in the past, it’s easy to forget the punishment inflicted by the “healthcare” law the President and Congress crammed down our throats. The following from the Spokane Spokesman-Review summarizes it. Before Election Day, pass it on.
