Preview 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 CDPHE Clears Xcel’s Two New Fuel Switching Plans Before the PUC can […]
Preview of November 2 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: Big Decisions Due
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 As of this post [10:08 AM], the PUC has yet to post […]
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 […]
Ritter's Phantom Carbon Tax
by William Yeatman and Amy Oliver Cooke Ratepayers can’t see it on their bill, and they won’t hear about it from Governor Bill Ritter. But a central component of his New Energy Economy is a big, hidden energy tax that makes customers pay for the controversial theory of global warming. In order to make Ritter’s […]
[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 […]
Review of October 27 PUC Hearing on HB 1365: Commissioner Baker Must Be a Persuasive Guy!
Brief Refresher on Xcel’s New Plans [N.B. I am repeating this refresher on Xcel’s new plans because I think it’s a handy reference] Xcel on Monday proposed four alternative plans to comply with HB 1365, after its original plan was rejected by the PUC on October 21. The four alternative plans are similar. They all […]
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 […]
Colorado’s Clean Air Clean Jobs Act Will Accomplish Neither
by Amy Oliver Cooke and William Yeatman The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Xcel Energy, and Governor Bill Ritter colluded to fast track the misnamed Clean Air Clean Jobs Act (HB 1365), which effectively mandates coal-fired power plants to switch to natural gas. The trio essentially duped lawmakers into hasty passage of this bill. They […]
