Business groups, labor unions, and elected officials are urging leaders of the Colorado General Assembly not to grant late bill status to a proposed measure that would require them to speed up their timelines for complying with the state’s carbon emission reduction targets.
According to a March 26 bill draft, the legislation would require electric utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% compared to 2005 levels by 2035 and 100% by 2040. The Colorado Energy Office’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, created through legislation passed in 2019, requires utilities to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 65% by 2035 and 100% by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.
The bill would also impose a 1.5% rate increase cap on utilities and require the Public Utilities Commission to assess the equity impacts of all utilities’ emissions reduction plans and rules, including benefits to disproportionately impacted communities.
According to the March 28 letter sent to Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate, energy providers in Colorado have already implemented clean energy plans aimed at meeting or exceeding an 80% emissions reduction by 2030.
“As a group, we have not historically agreed on all aspects of the energy transition and have often engaged in vigorous debate on what the best path forward is for our State’s energy future,” the signatories wrote. “However, we come together to ask that you not grant late bill status for legislation that would preemptively advance the clean energy targets for the power sector forward a full decade, from 2050 to 2040—not because we don’t think it may be possible to get there, but because we have to build out the framework thoughtfully, and with intention, to ensure that the energy transition doesn’t needlessly result in soaring energy costs.”
The writers said they were “surprised” to be presented with a draft of over sixty pages, which they claimed they had “little to no” input in crafting.
While we have had minimal time to review in detail, our collective first read leads us to believe, among several concerns, that this draft seriously risks driving energy costs higher at a time when our State is already nearing an affordability crisis. This is of particular concern for Colorado’s rural and economically disadvantaged communities,” the letter reads.
d be disproportionately impacted by the legislation. Groups like Gremmert’s are still in the process of understanding the implications of the state’s Clean Heat Plan, which requires utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4% by 2025 and 22% by 2030 as compared to 2015 levels.
“This new effort seems premature, and it is difficult to comprehend how this new effort can be accomplished without significant cost impacts on consumers,” Gremmert said.
Because it is being introduced after the House and Senate deadlines, the bill must be approved by leadership as a late bill before being assigned to committee. It is not known which chamber it will be introduced in and who the sponsors are.