Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Tag: Colorado Public Utilities Commission

Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History
No Comments
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Customers Face Largest Electric Rate Hike In Colorado History

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The $225 million increase would raise the average residential bill by $6.13, but the proposed rate needs PUC approval and consumer advocates oppose it. Xcel Energy, its corporate customers and unions are at odds with consumer advocates over a proposed settlement that would grant the utility the largest electric rate increase ever — $225 million. The proposed agreement between Xcel Energy and parties including the Colorado Public Utilities Commission staff, the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers, Walmart and Climax Molybdenum would raise the average household bill by $6.13 to $110.81 a month — a nearly 6% increase. Colorado Energy Consumers, which represents large industrial and commercial customers, also signed on to...
Read More
State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project
No Comments
Complete Colorado, Approved, Local

State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recently sided with Xcel Energy in overriding Elbert County’s denial of a permit for the monopoly utility’s $1.7 billion power line project. The decision was based on a rarely used state statute. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, both Elbert and El Paso counties previously denied Xcel’s permit request to build a massive transmission line that slices directly through Colorado’s Eastern Plains. Colorado’s Power Pathway Project is 550-mile line connecting wind and solar energy generated in eastern counties to Denver metro-area communities. The project is a vital part of Governor Polis’ ambitious, though increasingly unrealistic mandate for 100% renewable energy ...
Read More
Atmos Energy Seeks Biggest Gas Rate Hike In 25 Years For Colorado Customers
No Comments
The Herald Times, Approved, State

Atmos Energy Seeks Biggest Gas Rate Hike In 25 Years For Colorado Customers

By Special to the Herald Times | The Herald Times Public Utilities Commission urging customers to share their perspectives on the proposal. RBC | According to a press release from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Atmos Energy Corp. has filed an application proposing a 28% average increase to the “base rate” portion of monthly natural gas bills for its Colorado customers. The proposed hike is the largest single increase in the company’s base rates in the last 25 years and would boost Atmos’s annual “base rate” revenues by approximately $17.56 million. Atmos states the additional revenues are sought to increase profits for shareholders (known as “Return on Equity,” or ROE) and to recover the cost of infrastructure investments made since ...
Read More
House Bill 26-1246: Protecting Colorado’s citizens, landscape, and economy
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

House Bill 26-1246: Protecting Colorado’s citizens, landscape, and economy

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor’s update: House Bill 26-1246 was heard in the House Energy & Environment Committee on Thursday, March 12, 2026, and laid over for further consideration. The bill is expected to return to committee within approximately two weeks. Coloradans who want to weigh in before the next hearing can track the bill’s status and find contact information for committee members at leg.colorado.gov/committees/2026A/house/EnergyEnvironment. Colorado is at an energy crossroads. Decisions being made today about how electricity is generated, transmitted, and paid for will shape our state’s economy, landscape, and cost of living for decades to come. House Bill 26-1246 is a response to a simple but increasingly urgent problem: th...
Read More
PUC sunset bill would allow backroom commissioner talks and expand state override of local land use decisions
No Comments
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

PUC sunset bill would allow backroom commissioner talks and expand state override of local land use decisions

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project HB26-1326 PUC Sunset Bill There is finally firm policy to share about the Sunset Bill for the Public Utilities Commission. HB26-1326’s bill page is linked first below. I had heard some rumors so it’s good to have some specifics to examine. I wanted to get this out there faster than I had time to digest, so don’t expect more than a quick rundown of the things that I find concerning. I will be watching the bill and hoping to speak against what I’m about to share with you. If you have concerns of your own that you want to share, please speak up. In broad strokes, this bill continues the PUC for a while forward, but (as is their wont) the sponsors couldn’t help tossing in some extra goodies. Some fees go up,...
Read More
HB 26-1246: Protecting Coloradans from rising power costs and a broken system
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

HB 26-1246: Protecting Coloradans from rising power costs and a broken system

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor's update: House Bill 26-1246 is scheduled to be heard in the House Energy & Environment Committee today, Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. in the Old State Library. Coloradans may listen live at leg.colorado.gov/agenda/committee/202622308545820. Colorado is facing a turning point in energy policy. For years, families and businesses across our state have watched their electricity bills rise while our landscapes are increasingly carved up by massive transmission projects stretching from horizon to horizon. Forests, prairies, farms, and communities are being cut apart in the name of electrification and “grid modernization.” Meanwhile, the people paying the price are the very citizens the system is su...
Read More
Colorado Regulators Approve Xcel Renewable Buildout But Warn of Rising Costs
No Comments
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Colorado Regulators Approve Xcel Renewable Buildout But Warn of Rising Costs

By: Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s largest power provider is rushing to start before federal tax credits expire that could shave up to 50% from building expenses. Aiming to get energy generation and storage projects started before federal tax credits expire, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Jan. 28 approved an expedited list of 1,700 megawatts of projects for Xcel Energy. Still, the commission expressed reservations about the cost and operating efficiency of so many projects and wants more data and analysis. “It doesn’t feel right to me,” PUC Chairman Eric Blank said. “I treat customer money like my own money. … I am looking for a little certainty that we are not going to deeply regret this.” The Trump administration’s tax and spend...
Read More
Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages
No Comments
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado PUC Moves to Regulate Planned Power Shutoffs After Xcel Outages

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado After four Xcel power shutoffs in the past nine months, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission is taking action. The director of the PUC told state lawmakers the regulatory agency is creating rules to help mitigate the impact of "Public Safety Power Shutoffs," which are meant to reduce the risk of a wildfire in high wind events. The news came during a hearing by the Colorado House and Senate energy committees, where lawmakers grilled the president of Xcel, Robert Kenney. Republic state Sen. Byron Pelton, who represents Morgan County, told Kenney, when power is cut to feed lots in rural Colorado, cattle lose access to water. Democratic state Sen. Tammy Story, who represents Jefferson County, says the shutoffs have h...
Read More
State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns
No Comments
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun State utilities regulators collected testimony from 4,000 businesses, households with lifesaving medical equipment and the merely annoyed as they form rules for public safety power shut-offs. In December, Rainbow Schultz was preparing for Xcel Energy’s announced shutdown of power lines to cope with high winds since her restaurant — the Jamestown Mercantile — had lost $8,000 in the utility’s safety shut-off eight months earlier. Schultz was already reducing her supplies when she was told by Xcel Energy her town of 230 in western Boulder County would not be in the shut-off area and so she stocked up as usual.  Still when the 112-mile-per-hour gust of wind came Dec. 18, Schultz found herself in the dark wi...
Read More
State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits
No Comments
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Proposed routing for Xcel’s Power Pathway project in eastern and southeastern Colorado (Courtesy of Xcel Energy)      Colorado regulators plan a public hearing next week on Xcel Energy’s appeal to override El Paso County’s rejection of permits for a major transmission line segment. The hearing renews debate over a statewide renewable energy project that rural residents argue threatens property rights, wildfire safety and local landscapes without delivering benefits to their communities. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission scheduled the in-person session for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Swink Hall in the El Paso County Fair and Events Center, 366 10th St., Calhan, to gather comments on Xcel’s request to build 45 mil...
Read More

FD863768-0ACF-495E-9D21-2EF784DFFA6B[1]

Join us at RMV's Freedom Festival

Click Here for Tickets!

This will close in 0 seconds