Colorado's wind energy: neither free nor clean
The American Tradition Institute, where our own Amy Oliver Cooke is a media and investigative fellow, is suing the state of Colorado for its renewable energy mandate. (Check out Executive Director Paul Chesser’s interview on the Amy Oliver Show) Colorado voters approved a 10 percent renewable energy mandate in 2004. Since then the state legislature […]
PUC under the microscope
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the three appointed commissioners find themselves under even more scrutiny. This morning the Legislative Audit Committee voted unanimously to proceed with a full blown audit of the embattled commission. Last month we reported that Senators Scott Renfroe and Steve King, members of the audit committee, sent a letter […]
New energy economy's dirty little secret
Former Governor Bill Ritter and other advocates of Colorado’s “new energy economy” often use the misguided argument of breaking our dependence on foreign oil as a viable reason for their economically unsound energy policy. Just last November Ritter said: ‘Over the past few years, we’ve established a clean-energy template that is creating thousands of new jobs, […]
State Senator cites our work as a reason for PUC audit
State Senator Scott Renfroe (R-Greeley) said in an interview on the Amy Oliver Show on 1310 KFKA that information we published was influential in his decision to request an audit of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Specifically Senator Renfroe cited: Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request for all travel documents for the PUC commissioners that lead […]
Xcel Energy’s Versatile, Profitable Carbon Tax
To my knowledge, Colorado is the only state in which regulators allow utilities to incorporate a carbon tax into the economic models used to make resource acquisition decisions (see here and here). Ratepayers can’t see it in their monthly bill, but the tax is used in the models, and the models dictate spending. It’s the […]
HB 1291 second reading: snuggies, moderates and the gavel
Great quotes from today’s Senate floor debate on HB 1291, which saw republicans Scott Renfroe, Kevin Lundberg and Shawn Mitchell collaborate with democrat Lois Tochtrop to save money for Xcel ratepayers. Two pro-consumer amendments that closely mirror SB 236 and SB 237 were defeated. Senator Lois Tochtrop: “I’m buying stock in snuggies because that’s all […]
Senate committee gives thumbs up to Xcel…again
The Colorado Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee along a party-line vote (3-2) approved House Speaker Frank McNulty’s and Senate Majority Leader’s John Morse’s bill, HB 1291, which rubber stamps a costly and likely illegal State Implementation Plan (SIP) on regional haze. Nine people representing a variety of different groups including consumers, unions, mining, […]
Representative Looper a voice for ratepayers
My apologies to Representative Marsha Looper for not including her name as one of the seven no votes on HB 1291. As my colleague William Yeatman wrote, it was Rep. Looper along with Representative Jim Kerr who initially asked for a hearing on the Air Quality Control Commission’s State Implementation Plan that is the foundation […]
News Flash: Xcel opposes new pro-consumer legislation
This is an update to our last post explaining how Xcel Energy has its way with the General Assembly. Xcel’s lobbying firm 5280 Strategies just updated the utility monopoly’s position on three bills mentioned in the previous post. Those positions were not available until after I published my piece yesterday. While I could have guessed […]
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” […]
Fischer full of hot air when it comes to energy policy
The Colorado News Agency reported a gem of a quote from State Representative Randy Fischer (D-Fort Collins). While providing arguments against Representative Kathleen Conti’s (R-Littleton) bill to bring more accountability to the Public Utilities Commission, especially in the area of utility rate increases, Fischer: refuted Conti’s assertion and countered that cost increases can be attributed […]
Don’t Trust Studies Written by Wind Energy Lobbyists
Colorado is home to 5,000 wind energy jobs, according to a new, totally unbiased report from the American Wind Energy Association, this country’s premier wind energy lobby. Of course, the study is bogus. I wish I could tell you how the books were cooked. Unfortunately, I can’t read the report, because the AWEA put it […]
