Legislative Update: hearing highlights, testimony, rent seeking, and reconsideration
SB17-188: “Repeal Income Tax Credit on Innovative Motor Vehicles,” or, as we like to call it the “repeal and repair” bill because money that would go to wealthy electric vehicle owners and corporations will instead be directed to roads and bridges. The bill passed out of Senate Finance on February 28 on a party line […]
January 27 Colorado Energy Cheat Sheet: COGCC rulemaking pleases no one; anti-fracking measures disastrous for Colorado economy; pushing back against Clean Power Plan
Even small changes to oil and gas regulations can have deep and damaging effects on Colorado’s economy, according to researchers at the University of Colorado: A statewide, 2,000-foot buffer zone between drilling rigs and homes, schools and businesses would take a hammer to Colorado’s oil and gas industry, already reeling from low commodity prices, as […]
August 27 Colorado Energy Cheat Sheet: Bennet says ozone rule “not going to work”; net metering gets a boost from PUC
Sen. Michael Bennet, joined a bipartisan group of officials in Colorado questioning the proposed Environmental Protection Agency’s new ozone rule proposal at the recent Colorado Oil and Gas Association Energy Summit in Denver: Senator Bennet and Gardner participated on a panel hosted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association on August 26. Below is the […]
August 27 Colorado Energy Cheat Sheet: Bennet says ozone rule "not going to work"; net metering gets a boost from PUC
Sen. Michael Bennet, joined a bipartisan group of officials in Colorado questioning the proposed Environmental Protection Agency’s new ozone rule proposal at the recent Colorado Oil and Gas Association Energy Summit in Denver: Senator Bennet and Gardner participated on a panel hosted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association on August 26. Below is the […]
July 16 Colorado Energy Roundup: Sec. Jewell adds Colowyo Mine visit; renewable energy mandate upheld
A week after the Department of the Interior declined to move forward with an appeal in the Colowyo Mine case, and facing mounting pressure to visit the northwest portion of Colorado during a scheduled trip to Aspen, Sec. Sally Jewell appears to have conceded to a meeting with county commissioners: Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid […]
Fracking bills: regulations in search of problems
Two bills concerning hydraulic fracturing can be summarized best as excessive regulations in search of problems. I consulted with Doug Flanders, director of policy and external affairs for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), who provides a summary of each bill citing statistics from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the state […]
Is Colorado "addicted" to economic activity?
Part two of a series responding to a Denver Post guest column titled “Is Colorado addicted to oil?” from Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action. Gary Wockner’s editorial is long on conjecture and short on facts. It’s little more than 20 questions, which could be answered if Wockner bothered to do a modicum of research. […]
Legislature provides cover for Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy enjoys great success at the state Capitol. It seems that whatever Xcel wants legislatively, Xcel gets. Relief for ratepayers is met with opposition. According to the Secretary of State’s online lobbying information, through March 2011, the utility company has taken positions on 28 different bills this year: opposing 14, supporting 3 and “amending” […]
