In The Denver Gazette, Jake Fogleman of the Independence Institute lays out how Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission has shifted from protecting ratepayers to chasing emissions targets at any price. His column explains that the PUC’s new “clean heat” direction pushes gas utilities to plan for phasing out natural gas, with Coloradans picking up the tab.
Fogleman walks through the legal breadcrumbs, from SB-264’s initial 4 percent by 2025 and 22 percent by 2030 goals to the PUC’s new interim target of 41 percent by 2035, with an unmistakable glide path to 100 percent by 2050. He details cost projections, the busting of statutory caps, and why electrification-forced retrofits will wallop real families.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The PUC’s job is reliability and just rates, but the commission is now steering by an emissions-only compass, and ratepayers feel the turn.
- SB-264 set early targets, yet regulators added a 41 percent by 2035 waypoint and nodded toward 100 percent by 2050, which means plan for phase out.
- Costs are not a rounding error. Black Hills flagged about 397 million dollars per year to hit the old target, and Xcel projected over 1 billion dollars in five years.
- The 2.5 percent annual cost cap already got tossed as “in the public interest,” so affordability loses whenever it collides with climate math.
- Households face retrofit bills that can top 20,000 dollars, while electricity averaged far more per unit of energy than gas in 2024, and studies show savings are rare.
My Bottom Line
I agree with Fogleman completely. He is clear, careful, and right on the money. This is not a small policy tweak. It is a top-down rewrite of how Coloradans heat their homes, delivered by an unelected commission few voters watch, but everyone must fund.
The PUC is telling utilities to plan for an end state that does not pencil for real families, then letting the cost cap float away. That is how you hardwire scarcity and shock ordinary budgets. If lawmakers care about their constituents, they will reassert limits, restore transparency, and put affordability back on the scoreboard.
Everyone wants cleaner energy. They also want heat that works, bills they can pay, and choices that fit their homes. Right now, the commission’s path delivers none of the above. Fogleman’s warning is the map. Ignore it, and prepare to spend more to get less.
Source: The Denver Gazette
