Colorado Bill Could Lock Xcel Customers Into Decades Of Power Plant Costs
By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette
State regulators would gain expanded power to order Xcel Energy to finance major costs for its chronically troubled Comanche 3 coal plant through bonds backed by a decades-long charge on every customer’s monthly electric bill.
House Bill 26-1326, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission sunset bill that cleared its first committee on April 23, would let the PUC direct investor-owned utilities to use securitization under 2019’s Colorado Energy Impact Bond Act. The measure continues the PUC through 2037 while expanding its authority beyond voluntary utility applications.
Securitization allows a utility to issue bonds backed by a decades-long charge on ratepayer bills. The charge stays on every bill, with periodic adjustments, only unt...



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