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Two visions of Colorado’s energy future collide in committee hearing
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Two visions of Colorado’s energy future collide in committee hearing

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Xcel shut off power Saturday afternoon in parts of Boulder and Jefferson counties—roughly 18,000 customers in all. The wind was up, fire danger was high, and outages weren’t limited to the shutoff areas—some hit in the foothills, others farther into the mountains, where crews were still working Sunday. House Bill 26-1246 had come up earlier in the week during a committee hearing. Rep. Ken DeGraaf pointed to those kinds of events as a warning. “Public safety power shutoffs… have become increasingly normalized,” he told lawmakers. What followed wasn’t just a debate over one bill. It was a clash between two different ways of thinking about how Colorado should power its future. At its core, the disagreement comes down to this: should...
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HB 26-1246: Protecting Coloradans from rising power costs and a broken system
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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...
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U.S. Energy Secretary Warns Colorado Energy Policies Could Raise Prices Drive Jobs Away
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

U.S. Energy Secretary Warns Colorado Energy Policies Could Raise Prices Drive Jobs Away

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Monday warned that Colorado’s energy policies could lead to higher electricity prices and deter businesses, such as data centers, from locating in the state. Wright, a former executive of a Colorado-based energy company tapped by the Trump White House to lead the energy department, urged state policymakers to focus on natural gas and nuclear power during a news conference with U.S. Rep. Gab Evans at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain Generating Station on Monday. State policymakers have maintained that Colorado’s energy policy is balanced, taking into accounts the needs of consumers in their push for “net zero” carbon in just a few decades. Democrats have also argued that Colorado should take advantag...
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Xcel Warns Grid May Need Coal Plants Longer Amid Delays In New Energy Projects
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Warns Grid May Need Coal Plants Longer Amid Delays In New Energy Projects

By: Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The plants in Pueblo and Hayden were slated to phase out between 2025 and 2030. Now the company has proposed running all their units for four more years. Xcel Energy, facing what it says is a shortfall in electricity generating capacity for the next two years, is proposing to run its four coal-fired units until 2030. Comanche Unit 2, in Pueblo, was supposed to close at the end of 2025. One unit at the Hayden Station is to close in 2027 and the second unit is slated to shut in 2028. Comanche Unit 3 is set to close in 2030. Comanche 3 suffered turbine damage in August taking the unit offline. Xcel Energy initially said repairs would be completed in June, but in a March 2 report to state regulators the company said it h...
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Denver Leaders Face Tough Questions After Data Center Company CoreSite Skips Community Meeting
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Leaders Face Tough Questions After Data Center Company CoreSite Skips Community Meeting

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 DENVER — During a town hall on Tuesday night, residents of Denver's Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods demanded answers from city leaders, state officials, and business representatives about the impacts of a new data center being built in the area. CoreSite, the company building the data center, did not attend the town hall and cited safety concerns as the reason it refrained from participating. A spokesperson for CoreSite told Denver7 its leadership team was concerned after seeing social media conversations about the community event, but did not elaborate further. The company is currently constructing a 170,000-square-foot data center at Race Street and E. 49th Avenue in Denver, which will be one of three buildings as part of CoreSi...
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Trump Champions Middle Class Growth And Government Accountability In Marathon Address
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The Epoch Times, Approved, National

Trump Champions Middle Class Growth And Government Accountability In Marathon Address

By Jacob Burg, Andrew Moran, Troy Myers, Ryan Morgan, John Haughey, Jackson Richman | The Epoch Times The president unveiled new policies including a retirement program proposal, lower energy costs tied to data centers, and a task force to combat fraud. President Donald Trump highlighted his economic agenda in a record-long State of the Union address, declaring the United States is “bigger, richer, and stronger than ever before.” In his 1-hour 47-minute-long speech, the president introduced multiple guests to spotlight the impacts of his policies, from no-tax-on-tips to Trump Accounts. The president awarded the Medal of Honor to a Korean War hero and to a helicopter pilot wounded in the mission to capture Venezuelan Leader Nicolás Maduro, and announced that he w...
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New Colorado Bill Targets Data Center Growth Energy Use and Water Impact
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DENVER7, Approved, State

New Colorado Bill Targets Data Center Growth Energy Use and Water Impact

By: Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 DENVER — A bill has been introduced in the Colorado state legislature to propose regulations on data centers continuing to pop up around the state. It's a discussion Denver7 has been listening to with many people struggling with the amount of water and energy needed to make them function. HB26-1030 aims to hold developers accountable to meet climate goals, while also working to boost the economy. Colorado House of Representatives Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Jefferson County, and state Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver County, shared the below joint statement about the proposed regulations with Denver7: READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Clean Energy Mandates in HB 1030 Could Undermine Colorado’s Critical Infrastructure
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Clean Energy Mandates in HB 1030 Could Undermine Colorado’s Critical Infrastructure

By Sarah Montalbano | Commentary, Complete Colorado Legislators in Denver are off to the races this session with a heavy-handed bill that will chase data center investment out of Colorado. House Bill 26-1030 creates a new bureaucracy, imposes burdensome labor and workforce requirements, and requires data centers to use 100% clean energy. If lawmakers believe data centers are “essential critical infrastructure,” as the bill claims, then the legislature must allow them to use whatever electricity sources they need. If the goal is to drive data center developers to Wyoming, then lawmakers should continue down this path. Mandating unreliable energy The worst part of HB 1030 is its requirement that data centers must be powered with 100% renewabl...
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Republicans Should Just Say No To Josh Hawley’s Crusade Against Data Centers
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Republicans Should Just Say No To Josh Hawley’s Crusade Against Data Centers

By Booker Lightman | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Data center boom is creating a political conundrum for Republicans, or so Politico would have you believe. For while President Trump and the large majority of Republican elected officials are in favor of data centers, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Thomas Massie stand in opposition to the Trump administration.  These are the same names that are always being praised by the media for their “bravery” in “standing up” to Trump. It’s not hard to see why.  Most Congresspeople get little attention outside their districts, but if a Republican Congressman speaks out against Trump, suddenly he or she is the darling of a mainstream media apparatus that would love nothing more than to set the Right...
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New state law underpins Xcel’s $4.9B grid plan: Bills projected to rise
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denvergazette.com, Approved, State

New state law underpins Xcel’s $4.9B grid plan: Bills projected to rise

By Scott Weiser | Denver Gazette $8.71 per month estimated cost for residential ratepayers Colorado's largest utility company is proposing a $4.9 billion plan to modernize the power grid, accommodating vehicle and building electrification, as well as distributed electric generation and storage. The goal, Xcel Energy added, includes enhancing reliability, resiliency, and safety benefits, as required by a recently adopted state law. The five-year plan is expected to cost Colorado residential ratepayers approximately $8.71 more per month, while business customers will pay about $10.24 more per month by 2029. The grid modernization plan includes adding 3.1 gigawatts of new capacity to the distribution system, which the company said would be enough to serve nearly 500,000 ho...
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