Testimony on Bill to Implement Consumer-Regulated Electricity
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Independence Institute Energy Policy Analyst Sarah Montalbano testified in favor of consumer-regulated electric utilities (CREUs) in the Colorado House Energy & Environment Committee. The bill would allow the development of CREUs, which serve new large electricity loads through systems that are physically islanded from the existing grid. These projects would […]
Bad and Worse for Data Centers in Colorado
Denver just added a new layer to an already hostile environment for data centers. This week, Mayor Mike Johnston and members of the Denver City Council announced that they intend to file a moratorium on new data center construction in the city. The moratorium is expected to last for “several months,” or perhaps longer, while […]
Energy & Environmental Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Exempt Residential Customers from Clean Heat Plan Emissions Standards
On Thursday, February 19, 2026, Independence Institute Energy Policy Analyst Sarah Montalbano testified in the Colorado House Energy & Environment Committee. The bill would have exempted residential natural gas customers from the emissions calculations in gas utility Clean Heat Plans filed with the Public Utilities Commission. It would have been welcome relief for natural gas […]
Powering Data Centers Out of Colorado
By Sarah Montalbano Legislators in Denver are off to the races this session with a heavy-handed bill that will chase data center investment out of Colorado. The bill, HB26-1030, creates a new bureaucracy, imposes burdensome labor and workforce requirements, and requires data centers to use 100% clean energy. If lawmakers believe data centers are “essential […]
The Truth About Energy in Polis’ State of the State
By Sarah Montalbano Governor Jared Polis addressed the General Assembly in his final State of the State address last week. Polis repeatedly invoked his efforts to build “low-cost clean energy,” but it’s the very same wind, solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles that will make higher energy prices for Coloradans his legacy. Between January 2019, […]
Jake Fogleman Discusses the PUC’s Plan to Phase Out Natural Gas on Free State Colorado
Independence Institute Director of Policy Jake Fogleman appeared on the Free State Colorado podcast this week to talk about the Public Utilities Commission’s recent decision aimed at phasing out natural gas use in homes and commercial buildings. He discussed what the PUC’s new “clean heat” targets will mean in practice for gas utilities and ratepayers, […]
Jake Fogleman Talks Rising Energy Bills, the Role of State Energy Policy on Free State Colorado
Independence Institute Director of Policy Jake Fogleman appeared on Free State Colorado this week to talk about the forces currently driving increasing energy costs for Colorado households and businesses. He also discussed the role state lawmakers have played in imposing those costs in pursuit of a clean energy transition and what energy policy trends Colorado […]
HJR 1023: Colorado lawmakers’ constitutional ignorance on display
When the federal government certified the Colorado Constitution as “republican” in 1876, the Colorado constitution limited the legislature more than TABOR does.
Another Special Session on Property Taxes: What Changed?
By Nash Herman In a frenzy to counter proposed Initiatives 50 and 108, Colorado legislators successfully passed new property tax legislation during the August special session. HB24B-1001, the “deal bill,” was created to convince the creators of 50 and 108 to remove the two initiatives from the November ballot. Unsatisfied with the property tax bill […]
Energy & Environmental Policy Center’s Testimony on Bill to Classify Nuclear as ‘Clean Energy’
On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, Independence Institute’s Energy and Environmental Policy Analyst Jake Fogleman testified on SB24-039 in the Colorado Senate Transportation & Energy Committee. The bill would have amended the state’s statutory definitions of “clean energy” and “clean energy resources” to include nuclear energy. The committee ultimately voted not to pass the bill at […]
Colorado Lawmakers to Consider Pro-Nuclear Bill
Colorado lawmakers are set to consider their first nuclear energy bill of the 2024 legislative session later this week. SB24-039, dubbed “Nuclear Energy as a Clean Energy Resource,” is scheduled to go before the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee for first reading on Wednesday. The bill seeks to level the playing field for carbon-free energy […]
Bootleggers, Baptists, and the Clean Energy Transition
Independence Institute has a long track record of warning against the unhealthy incentives that can arise from the relationship between monopoly electric utilities and green policymakers. Once viewed as rivals of one another, the two sides realized a few years back that coexisting as fellow travelers on the road to the so-called clean energy transition […]
