PUC Establishes New ‘Clean Heat’ Targets Designed to Crack Down on Natural Gas
The regulatory noose around Colorado’s natural gas utilities just got a whole lot tighter, and captive ratepayers stand to bear the brunt of the economic pain. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Monday issued a formal decision updating the state’s emissions targets under its first-in-the-nation “clean heat plan” law. The decision established by rule […]
Colorado PUC Trims Xcel’s Unprecedented Renewables Plan
Ratepayer interests received a small win from Colorado regulators overseeing Xcel Energy’s latest resource plan. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) pared back Xcel’s $15 billion request to build wind, solar, batteries, and new transmission lines by around $3 billion last week. The PUC’s trimming of Xcel’s request came as it approved an alternative resource […]
Colorado Lawmakers Reintroduce Nuclear Feasibility Bill
The potential for introducing small-modular reactors (SMRs) to Colorado will get a second look at the state legislature thanks to a new bill currently being considered. HB23-1080, sponsored by Representative Ty Winter (R.) and Senator Byron Pelton (R.), would direct the Colorado Energy Office to conduct a feasibility study for the use of SMRs as […]
Jake Fogleman Talks Xcel Energy Bills, Colorado Climate Policy on the George Brauchler Show
Policy analyst Jake Fogleman joined the George Brauchler Show on 710 KNUS to talk about the sky-high energy bills Xcel customers have been seeing this winter due to a pancaking series of rate hikes granted by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. They also discuss who is ultimately to blame for those rate hikes, the reality […]
Fossil Fuels Bail Out Colorado’s Grid Yet Again
Coloradans might want to begin brushing up on their German. At least enough to be familiar with the word Dunkelflaute, which roughly translates to “dark doldrums.” The term describes a weather pattern of low wind and limited sunlight that makes generating electricity from renewables nearly impossible. The event is relatively common in northern and western Europe during […]
New PUC Report Points to Future Reliability Risks to Colorado’s Grid
A new report from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is sounding alarm bells on the reliability risks posed to the state’s grid as wind and solar continue to replace fossil fuel plants. According to Colorado Public Radio: Heat waves and freezing temperatures won’t be the only risks for Colorado’s power grid in the future, state regulators […]
Xcel Proposes Yet Another Rate Hike
Colorado’s largest utility is back before the PUC requesting another rate increase, this time a $312.2 million bump in electric rates. The request is just the latest to arrive in 2022, a year that has come to represent a cost-hike bonanza for the energy monopoly. The PUC already approved a $182.2 million electric rate hike […]
Reliance on Solar Projects Threatening Colorado’s Outlook on Grid Reliability
As Colorado moves to retire legacy fossil-fuel power plants in order to meet Governor Polis’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040, the state is increasingly reliant on wind and solar to meet our electricity needs. And now, thanks to supply chain snarls hitting the solar industry, our ability to keep the lights on next […]
The Real-World Costs and Consequences of Restricting Natural Gas
Apropos of next week’s hearing at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission—in which the PUC plans to take public comment on a proposed rule that would dramatically affect natural gas line extensions—news out of New England offers a grim look at the consequences of underrating sufficient natural gas capacity. Per the Washington Examiner: Authorities in New England are staring […]
Independence Institute Tells the Public Utilities Commission to Pump the Brakes on De-Facto Gas Ban
The PUC is holding a Zoom public comment hearing on these rules on Monday, September 19th at 9am. People who wish to participate in that hearing can find more information here. They can also submit written comments referencing Proceeding No. 21R-0449G by clicking here. In the 2021 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB21-264, […]
What Not to Do: California Energy Policy Serves As a Warning to Colorado
Just days after finalizing a future ban on the sale of gas-powered vehicles, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) sent out a bulletin Tuesday afternoon warning that an expected heat wave posed serious threats to the reliability of the state’s electric grid. Starting tomorrow through Tuesday, California and the West are expecting extreme heat that […]
Study: Shoddy Public Charging Infrastructure Hampers EV Take-Up
Policymakers at both the national and state levels are making a concerted effort to encourage the widespread adoption of electric vehicles among the general public. Here in Colorado, the Polis administration has set a goal of having 940,000 EVs on the road by 2030 as part of its plan to electrify the state’s transportation sector […]
