How Long Will Hick Equivocate on Energy Policy?
On energy policy, Governor-elect John Hickenlooper is perhaps the most masterful politician I’ve ever encountered. Coal, climate change, costs…these matters engender passions. They get people riled up. So it’s an awesome political trick that Hickenlooper has been elected mayor of this country’s finest city, and then governor of this country’s finest state, without revealing what […]
EPA’s Ozone Decision Means That HB 1365 Is Most Cost-Ineffective Environmental Policy, Ever
The putative mission of HB 1365 is for Colorado to address “reasonably foreseeable” federal air quality regulations in a holistic fashion, which is supposedly more cost-effective than a piece-meal approach. When it rolled out the legislation, the Ritter administration told the PUC that there were eleven “current and foreseeable air quality requirements (see slides 13 […]
Heading into HB 1365 Crunch Time, A Rundown of Who Is Hoping for What
As reported yesterday by Mark Jaffe in the Denver Post, the PUC on Monday partially ruled on Xcel’s HB 1365 implementation plan. Nothing controversial was determined; instead, the PUC approved elements that were common to all of the plans “on the table.”* The disputed subject matter was left for today—namely, what is to be done […]
Xcel Changes Tune on “Recommended” Plan
A Quick Review of HB 1365… HB 1365, the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act, mandates that Xcel file a plan by August 15 2010 that would: be implemented by December 31, 2017; meet “reasonably foreseeable” state and federal air quality regulations; achieve at least 70% reductions in nitrogen oxides emissions from at least 900 megawatts […]
Review of November 3 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: Xcel Axes Coal, Environmentalist Plans
Review of November 3 PUC Hearing on HB 1365 Primer on the Many Implementation Plans that the PUC Is Considering Primer on HB 1365 Timeline of Implementation Plans Study on the Dubious Foundations of HB 1365 Archive of HB 1365 Posts Oped Last Week in Denver Daily News: Ritter’s Phantom Carbon Tax Xcel Identifies Which […]
Confused about All Those HB 1365 Plans? Then This Post Is for You!
There are at least twelve HB 1365 plans being considered by the PUC, and it can get very confusing trying to follow them all. But don’t fret—I’ve done the work for you! Here’s a handy primer on the plans now in play. HB 1365 Requires a Plan, Not Action HB 1365, the Clean Air Clean […]
[1:05 PM Update] November 1 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: PUC Rebuffs Peabody’s Request for Shortened Response; CDPHE Determination Not Expected till 5 PM
[N.B. The PUC quickly addressed the items I noted in this morning’s preview] PUC Rebuffs Peabody’s Request for Shortened Response As I noted this morning, Peabody Energy last Friday filed a motion to dismiss the proceeding. The coal company requested that the PUC require parties to respond to the motion by tomorrow (November 2), in […]
Preview of November 1 PUC Hearing on HB 1365
HB 1365 Primer Timeline Archive of Posts on HB 1365 PUC Hearings Policy Paper on Dubious Foundations of HB 1365 Crash Course on Xcel’s New HB 1365 Implementation Plans [N.B. I am repeating this refresher on Xcel’s new plans because I think it’s a handy reference] Xcel last week proposed four alternative plans to comply […]
Review of October 29 PUC Hearing on HB 1365
HB 1365 Primer Xcel’s New HB 1365 Implementation Plans Timeline Peabody to PUC: Gas Is the New Coal A Peabody Energy witness today challenged the conventional wisdom that natural gas is a clean alternative to coal. Kipp Coddington, a consultant contracted by the coal company, warned the PUC that, “there is not the information before […]
Update on PUC Hearings for HB 1365: Another Long Day of Cross Examinations
Today Will Be Another Long Day of Cross Examinations The Colorado electricity industry is regulated such that investor-owned utilities like Xcel cannot make any significant decisions without approval from the PUC. As a result, electricity businesses don’t compete with one another on the market, but rather in PUC hearings. For these companies, profits are dictated […]
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 […]
