regulations

Storing freedom 0
- February 4, 2017
For as much as Colorado might fancy itself the next Silicon Valley, the state is stuck in a time warp when it comes to electricity service providers. Could a modest bill regarding residential battery storage spark change for 1.4 million Xcel Energy and 93,000 Black Hills Energy ratepayers? Colorado’s investor owned utility (IOU) monopoly model
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Time for Colorado Energy Office to receive more than an audit 0
- January 31, 2017
The Colorado Energy Office continues to show some irregularities in its spending and handling of tens of millions of dollars, according to a newly released performance audit. A 2011 Independence Institute investigation of the CEO, formerly the Governor’s Energy Office, sparked the call for a 2012 audit by the Office of the State Auditor that
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EPA social media machine put on hold 0
- January 25, 2017
This is the first presidential transition of complete social media saturation, and it should come as no surprise that the Trump Administration wants control of social media accounts from activist agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where some staffers have threatened to undermine the new administration. According to an online media report, the
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Black Hills ratepayers should direct their anger at Xcel Energy 0
- January 23, 2017
Protests and letters to the editor show just how frustrated Pueblo ratepayers are with rising electricity bills and their service provider Black Hills Corporation. I sympathize with those ratepayers, but their anger is misdirected. The real villains are former Governor Bill Ritter and Colorado’s largest investor utility Xcel Energy. All Colorado ratepayers are paying
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EPA employees plan resistance to Trump agency reform efforts 0
- January 23, 2017
Back in November, the Independence Institute previewed what opposition the incoming Trump administration would likely face if campaign pledges to reform and reduce the size and scope of federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Administration, concluding that in many cases, personnel is policy. Newly leaked reports and sources within the agency hint that the personnel
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Hickenlooper’s executive order on carbon pulled after loss of political cover 0
- January 23, 2017
Earlier this month Governor John Hickenlooper quashed his own plans for issuing an executive order on carbon emissions for Colorado after nearly six months of speculation and pushback. The original draft plan, as we reported back in August 2016, would have directed “Colorado’s state agencies to implement policies to achieve a minimum 25 percent reduction
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