Pressroom
Colorado Renewable News
CRES Clips Email Newsletter
National News
Colorado RE Blog
CRES News
CRES Home
 
 
Support Renewable Energy in Colorado:

Colorado Renewable Energy
RE BLOG

January 2008
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission: Where Energy Policy is Implemented

By Tom Konrad

2007 was a banner year for the Colorado lawmakers when it came to energy policy, and with all the successes. While it would be tempting for clean energy advocates to declare victory and go home, getting good laws passed is only the beginning. When it comes to implementing laws that pertain to investor-owned utilities, the responsibility falls on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to interpret the legislation and ensure that our state’s public utilities comply with that interpretation. Here, “public utilities” means Xcel Energy (also known as Public Service of Colorado, or PSCo) and Black Hills Corporation (formerly Aquila), since rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are generally exempt from PUC regulation.

The PUC accomplishes its business in a series of “dockets” in which various “interveners” submit testimony (and respond to other interveners’ testimony) for the PUC to consider. Individuals can become interveners, but it is time consuming and requires knowledge of PUC procedure. Public interest groups with an attorney can also intervene, with various expert witnesses submitting testimony on behalf of that group.

Although CRES is not currently intervening in any dockets, our intent is to facilitate technical information exchange between our membership and intervening organizations.

What follows is a quick summary of some of the most important dockets before the PUC this year, and the groups who support Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency who are intervening, and whom you can support or contact for more information about their activities. You can follow the links to comprehensive testimony and rulings in each docket on the PUC website.

07A-447E—This electric resource planning docket will determine the mix of new generation and energy efficiency resources with which Xcel plans to meet our anticipated electricity needs in the coming years. Anticipated/ current interveners: IEA, RUC, SWEEP, WRA.

07A-420E—Demand side management plan in which the PUC will review Xcel/PSCo’s proposals for electricity DSM policy including energy savings and DSM budget goals, DSM program cost recovery, and incentive to the utility for implementing effective DSM programs. This docket was initiated in response to DSM legislation enacted last year, HB 07-1037. Interveners: EEBC, RUC, SWEEP, WRA.

07R-371G—This rulemaking docket will determine the rules and policies governing gas utility energy efficiency (a.k.a. Demand Side Management, or DSM) programs, including energy savings goals and how utilities will be compensated and rewarded for reductions in natural gas usage. Current Interveners: EEBC, RUC, SWEEP.

07A-462E—Renewable Energy Plan docket in which the PUC will review Xcel/PSCo’s plans for complying with the recently doubled Renewable Energy Standard. Interveners: CoSEIA, IEA, WRA.

07M-446E—Transmission is essential to bringing the power from renewable energy sources to population centers. This docket will determine much of when and where transmission is upgraded or built, and therefore will have a long term impact on which Renewables can be developed. Current Interveners: IEA, WRA.

Key to Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advocacy Groups intervening at the Public Utilities Commission (alphabetical)
Note: CRES has not reviewed the testimony of any of these parties, and their opinions are their own. Their information is included because they are known to be aligned with CRES’s mission of promoting Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Colorado. This not intended to be a comprehensive list of all parties involved.

Abbr.   Name Contact Description/ Web Site
CoSEIA 
 
Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association Lynn Hirshman
Executive Director
lynn at CoSEIA dot org
Trade association for the solar industries in Colorado.
www.coseia.org
EEBC 
 
Energy Efficiency Business Coalition of Colorado Paul Kriescher
President
paul at lightlytreading dot com
Industry association of energy efficiency businesses, dedicated to promoting energy efficiency in Colorado
IEA 
 
Interwest Energy Alliance Craig Cox
Executive Director
cox at intewest dot org
Group of RE businesses and advocacy groups promoting renewable energy project development in the West.
www.interwest.org 
RUC 
 
Ratepayers United Colorado Gina Hardin
Attorney
ginahardin at msn dot com
Nonprofit advocating for responsible and accountable energy at the PUC.
www.ratepayersunited.org
SWEEP 
 
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project Howard Geller
Executive Director
hgeller at swenergy dot org
Promotes energy efficiency in southwestern states.
www.swenergy.org 
WRA 
 
Western Resource Advocates John Nielsen
Energy Project Director
jnielsen at westernresources dot org
Nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the natural resources of the states of the Interior West.
www.westernresourceadvocates.org
Leslie Glustrom  Lglustrom at gmail dot com Individuals intervening in many of the above cases, in support of energy efficiency and renewable energy and opposing fossil fuels.
Nancy LaPlaca Nancylaplaca at yahoo dot com

Tom Konrad, CRES Policy Committee Chair.
Tom at altenergystocks dot com

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the CRES RE Blogs are the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the position of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, its Board of Directors or the CRES Executive Committee.
Disclaimer

CRES BLOGGERS
Archives
Paul Notari
Confronting the Growing U.S. Oil Crisis
August 2007
Mona Newton
Net Metering is a Win-Win for Utilities and Local Communities
April 2007
Tom Konrad -
The Psychology of Energy Efficiency
March 2007
Doug Seiter -
Moving Beyond the Choir
January 2007
Morey Wolfson -
Why a CRES Strategic Plan?
October 2006
Geller & Lehr - Colorado's Energy Future: Our Perspective
September 1006
Phil von Hake - Help Bring IREA Into the 21st Century
August 15, 2006
Phil von Hake - The Solar 2006 Tipping Point
June 2006
CoSEIA - Policy Recommendations for Solar Energy
May 2006
Tom Konrad - Why I Bought a Jeep
April 2006
Ron Lehr - Colorado PUC Rewrites Amendment 37 March 2006
Delmar (Pete) Beverly - My Meeting with President George W. Bush - February 2006
Bolko von Roedern
Natural Gas to Energy is Like Bread to the Swine - January 2006
Sheila Townsend What Makes a Bad Green Pricing Program?
December 2005
Ken Regelson
Highlights of PUC Deliberations on Amendment 37 - October 2005
Susan Innis
A New Green Power Option - Community Energy, Inc. - November 2005
Sol Shapiro
Solar Thermal Electric and How to Start it as a FREE LUNCH
 
 

Join CRES | Contact CRES

Colorado Renewable Energy Society
P.O. Box 933, Golden, CO 80402
Hotline & Events: 303-806-5317 | info@cres-energy.org