Xcel Energy Archives - Independence Institute

Sky High Gas Bills Coming This Winter 0
- September 23, 2022
Last week I wrote about the costs and consequences of underrating natural gas infrastructure, which are currently most pronounced in New England this winter in the form of exorbitant bills and inadequate supply. But it turns out Colorado, while being in better shape than our northeastern counterparts, is not immune to the disruptions roiling the
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Smart Thermostats Are Looking Like Dumb Policy 0
- September 21, 2022
Earlier this month Xcel Energy made national headlines when it locked out 22,000 customers in Colorado from adjusting their thermostats as temperatures rose into the 90s. Those affected were customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program, which allows the company to adjust the temperature setting on internet-connected “smart thermostats.” In exchange
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Independence Institute Tells the Public Utilities Commission to Pump the Brakes on De-Facto Gas Ban 0
- September 15, 2022
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,
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Study: Shoddy Public Charging Infrastructure Hampers EV Take-Up 0
- August 22, 2022
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
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Virginia Regulators Set an Example for Ratepayer Accountability 0
- August 11, 2022
Last Friday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC)—a regulatory agency that, among other things, oversees the state’s utilities—imposed a strict performance standard that carries financial consequences if a proposed offshore wind project from the state’s largest utility fails to perform. This is a huge win for ratepayer accountability, and it has real implications for customers
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Clean and Reliable: The Case for Small-Modular Reactors in Colorado 0
- June 21, 2022
Electric grid reliability is on the forefront of everyone’s mind following a sobering report from the country’s grid overseer. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a regulatory body overseeing grid operations across the United States and Canada, warned last month in its latest summer reliability assessment that vast swaths of the West and Midwest
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