HomeMy WebLinkAbout20231283.tiffOFFICE OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PHONE: 970-400-4200
FAX: 970-336-7233
1150 O STREET
P.O. BOX 758
GREELEY, CO 80632
April 26, 2023
RE: SB23-291
Dear Honorable Members of the Colorado General Assembly,
I am writing this letter to you today, to encourage your ongoing collaboration and partnership with Xcel Energy to
pass thoughtful policy that can improve the lives of Coloradans. Harmful policy will raise costs for Colorado energy
consumers, will harm Colorado's economy, and hurt our most vulnerable communities.
Energy is the lifeblood of an economy and by extension, community. Xcel Energy has worked as a strong economic
development and community partner across Colorado by providing energy that communities need to thrive. Harmful
legislation jeopardizes Colorado's leadership in the clean energy transition and the State's ability to achieve its clean
energy goals. It will send a signal to clean energy investors to look to other states with more stable policy
environments.
In the last 10 years the Colorado General Assembly has passed transformation legislation setting Colorado on the path
as one of the nation's leading states solving aggressive carbon reduction. Legislation that is harmful to Natural Gas
Industry will not support this work. Examples include the Clean Heat policy that the General Assembly passed two
years ago, electrification policies, gas utility evolution policies, and market development policies.
The SB-23-291 would pause all development of new clean energy technologies. The next generation of energy will
need to be from geothermal, hydrogen, and long-range battery storage. Legislation advancing a more hostile regulatory
environment puts everything the state has done at risk.
Examples that we find most harming are communities across Colorado who are already struggling with a shortfall of
available, affordable housing. As communities work with developers to address housing concems, any legislation that
would dramatically impact those efforts and further compound the problem, forcing higher prices for developers and
subsequently home buyers. Harmful policy also sends a message that doing business in our state is expensive and
restrained by heavy handed regulations that do not foster growth or expansion.
Please do not support any policy that will stop economic growth in communities and could raise costs for growing
communities, who may have new residents and businesses needing electric and gas service. We need to continue to
support all customers along with all Colorado communities — frontier, rural, mountain and metro — and ensure that all
Coloradans benefit from socializing natural gas infrastructure costs. Targeting a community or a region for sole
responsibility of infrastructure costs just because they may be growing today will significantly impact one group of
customers and not another.
Xcel Energy has a solid reputation for coming alongside communities to tackle the complex energy environment.
They are working with State elected leaders, community partners, and economic development organizations to address
the challenges of recently higher energy bills which were born from a unique set of circumstances given the volatile
energy market and unprecedented cold winter. Policies that punish or place intended harm on the utility and its
employees is not the right answer for Colorado and most importantly not the right answer for the great people who
call Colorado home. We ask that you support a policy that solves for stable utility bills and not support a policy that
punishes Xcel Energy.
Co PAM CQvhO11S
05/:O/23
2023-1283
Sincerely,
Mike Freeman, Chair
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
S tt K. James
Kevin D. Ross
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