Winners and Losers in the 2018 Colorado General Assembly –
The warm weather has returned, spring sports are in full swing, and the Colorado General Assembly has adjourned for 2018. That means it's time to take a look at the scorecard and review the energy and utilities related issues that won and lost this legislative season.
Both houses considered similar numbers of energy and utility related legislation, however, of the relevant bills introduced in the House only approximately 20% passed as compared to approximately 1/3 of the Senate bills passing or still having a chance of becoming law.
Legislation considered this year include some perennial contenders (renewable energy, energy storage, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change) as well as some relatively new topics that may be expected to return in the future (electric and alternative fuel vehicle infrastructure). Overall, energy and utility related legislation was not a major, let alone controversial, focus of the Colorado legislative session this year as topics such as transportation funding, beer sales, and the public employees retirement program occupied much of the legislators' attention.
Noteworthy winners this session included:
– HB18-1270 – directing the Colorado Public Utilities
Commission ("PUC") to establish mechanisms for
investor-owned electric utilities ("IOUs") to integrate
energy storage considerations into their resource planning
processes and to procure storage resources. (Passed by both
houses.)
– HB18-1271 – streamlining the process and
circumstances under which IOUs may offer economic development rates
for retail electric service. (Passed by both houses.)
– SB18-003 – preserving the Colorado Energy Office but
making substantial changes to the programs it administers.
(Awaiting the Governor's signature.)
– SB-009 – confirming that electricity consumers have a
right to interconnect energy storage systems on their property and
directing the PUC to adopt rules to facilitate the installation and
use of such systems. (Governor signed.)
– SB18-134 – deregulating nonprofit water companies but
retaining PUC jurisdiction to hear complaints concerning rates
charged by such companies. (Governor signed.)
– SB18-167 – revising Colorado's "811"
program concerning notice and marking of underground utility
facilities. (Passed by both houses.)
Bills that failed to advance to the legislative championships
included:
– HB18-1071 – intended to codify a Colorado Court of
Appeals decision concerning the development of oil and gas
resources consistent with the protection of public health, safety,
welfare, and environmental and wildlife resources.
– HB18-1085 – requiring the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment to research the health effects of
industrial wind turbines.
– HB18-1107 – requiring builders of new residences to
offer buyers the option to prewire their homes for electric vehicle
charging systems.
– HB18-1274 – requiring a reduction by 2050 in
statewide greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions by at least
80% as compared to 2005 emission levels.
– HB18-1281 – requiring the PUC to establish rules
concerning standards of conduct and conflicts of interest,
prohibiting former officers and directors of regulated entities
from serving as a PUC commissioner within four years of such
employment, and barring sitting commissioners from holding a
financial interest in a regulated entity.
– HB18-1297 – requiring a reduction by 2025 in
statewide GHG emissions by 26% as compared to 2005 emission levels,
and reductions in GHG emissions from the electric utility sector of
25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
– HB18-1345 – providing incumbent electric utilities a
right of first refusal to construct new electric transmission lines
that have been approved through a federal regional transmission
planning process.
– HB18-1382 – creating an energy legislation review
committee to study various energy supply, transmission, and
security issues in Colorado.
– HB18-1428 – authorizing IOUs to enter into
collaborative agreements with eligible communities concerning the
community's energy goals and the energy supplied to the
community.
– SB18-048 – expanding local governments' land use
authority with respect to the siting of oil and gas
facilities.
– SB18-063 – increasing the financial assurance and
reclamation requirements applicable to operators of oil and gas
facilities.
– SB18-064 – establishing a requirement that
Colorado's qualifying retail utilities, including
investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative electric utilities
supply 100% of their retail electricity sales from eligible energy
resources by 2035, and restricting the use of renewable energy
credits to meet such requirement.
– SB18-216 – allowing public utilities to implement
electric and other alternative fuel motor vehicle infrastructure
programs.
– SB18-226 – prohibiting the state of Colorado from
participating in state-level collaborative efforts to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions or otherwise promote the goals of the Paris
Agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
– SB18-246 – repealing aspects of Colorado's
Renewable energy standards and revising the types of electric
generation that qualifies as eligible energy resources.
As with sports, just as one season comes to a close, thoughts turn to the next season and the Colorado legislature is no different. With the close of the General Assembly's efforts for 2018, attention is already turning to the November, 2018 elections and the 2019 legislative session. Current Governor John Hickenlooper is term-limited and both houses of the General Assembly are considered to be in play this election cycle. Pundits are already predicting much more activity on energy and utilities issues next session.
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