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Colorado Moves to Enforce Major Utility Emissions Cuts Despite Cost Concerns
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Moves to Enforce Major Utility Emissions Cuts Despite Cost Concerns

By: Shannon Ogden | Denver7 The PUC will require utilities like Xcel Energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 41% by 2035. DENVER — Environmental groups are celebrating a win in Colorado after the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) agreed to tougher standards on greenhouse gas emissions from Colorado utilities like Xcel Energy. At a meeting Wednesday, commissioners decided to require utilities to reduce these pollutants by 41% by 2035. Sierra Club Colorado was one of the groups arguing for these higher reductions. "I think we should feel proud that we pushed them on this. I think we're really happy with the 41% because it keeps us moving," said Sarah Tresseder, energy organizer of Sierra Club Colorado.  In 2021, Colorado passed the first-in-the-nation "Clean Heat Law" r...
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San Luis families left dry: Rural Colorado town loses water with no warning
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

San Luis families left dry: Rural Colorado town loses water with no warning

By Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun FORT GARLAND — In the sandy hills scattered with piñon pine and spiky yucca, hundreds of people have relied on a water supply that is so much a part of the local culture that Costilla County residents describe it as a way of life.  Drilling for water is a pricey gamble on the high desert where many live off the grid at 7,500 to 10,000 feet of elevation. A well could cost $25,000 with no guarantee that water will spring, even after digging hundreds of feet.  Instead, many people in the poorest county in the state have opted for cisterns, reservoirs buried underground and covered with a plastic lid or cement slab. To fill them, residents drive 20 minutes or so to town, often weekly, with tanks in their pickup trucks or on their tra...
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Federal home energy rebate program aims to help lower family utility bills in Colorado
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Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Federal home energy rebate program aims to help lower family utility bills in Colorado

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado The Biden Administration is announcing the launch of a federal home energy rebate program in Colorado. It aims to help lower families' utility bills. The program will provide Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates to qualified Coloradans when they install cost-saving measures like heat pumps, electrical panels and insulation. Eligible households will be able to save up to $14,000 per home. "From folks living in the Plains to those in the Rockies, big cost savings are coming for Coloradans looking to adapt their home's energy needs to face the new challenges posed by climate change," U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. "Colorado's HEAR program presents a historic opportunity for residents in the state to save hundreds to thousands of ...
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Commerce City residents express frustration with ongoing power outages in their Colorado community
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Commerce City residents express frustration with ongoing power outages in their Colorado community

By Gabriela Vidal | CBS Colorado It's inside small businesses like Sara Dominguez's tamale shop in downtown Commerce City where residents have been feeling left in the dark amid frequently power outages across the community. "It can be cold. It can be hot. It's going out and we don't know why," said Dominguez.On Thursday, Dominguez and other residents across Commerce City experienced yet another power outage, this one lasting for several hours between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
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Colorado utility bills may increase 10% over four years to pay for wildfire mitigation
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Approved, State, The Center Square

Colorado utility bills may increase 10% over four years to pay for wildfire mitigation

By By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Monthly Xcel Energy bills will increase approximately 10% or more by 2028 to pay for a wildfire mitigation plan submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The utility emphasized its primary focus is safety for both the communities it serves and its customers in a media release announcing the submission. If the agency approves the plan, residential bills will increase through incremental bi-annual amounts until reaching approximately $8.88 a month by Jan. 1, 2028. “Our goal is to ensure that no catastrophic wildfire is started by Xcel Energy assets,” Bob Frenzel, president and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy, said in a statement. “And, while we’ve made significant wildfire safety progress in Colorado and achieved key goals, t...
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