Pueblo community members weigh in on Colorado clean heat plans during PUC meeting

Colorado Public Utilities Commission Chairman Eric Blank came to Pueblo's Steelworks Center of the West on Wednesday with representatives from Xcel Energy and Colorado Natural Gas to hear questions and comments from community members about “clean heat plans" being developed by Colorado gas utilities companies.

The plans — which may include a mix of supply-side resources that replace traditional natural gas and demand-side resources that reduce the gas customers use — are a requisite of Colorado Senate Bill 21-264, which requires gas utilities to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 4% from a 2015 baseline by 2025 and 22% by 2030.

Another requirement of the bill states that the plans must be the lowest reasonable cost, though utility providers can’t try to meet those standards by providing less gas to homes.

After issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking in October 2021, the PUC has held workshops and hearings for public comment at four Colorado communities. The committee's stop in Pueblo was its fifth of six sessions, with the sixth taking place in Lamar later Wednesday.

The general mood during the meeting was neither contentious or timid. Attendees settled right in the middle, asking complex questions while providing insight into Pueblo’s state of affairs in the energy industry.

The meeting covered a variety of topics ranging from weatherization to concerns about the status quo in Pueblo.

Pueblo resident and environmental activist Jamie Valdez told Blank that Pueblo pays some of the highest rates for electricity in the state and argued the state is gouged by local electric utility providers. He added that residents experience constant rate increases by the PUC.

“When we talk about electrifying our homes, unfortunately a lot of Puebloans are going to experience rate increases based on that,” Valdez said.

Valdez said he supports a switch from natural gas, believing it has detrimental climate and health impacts, but said Pueblo residents can’t afford such action because of price gouging from its local utility provider, Black Hills Energy.

“I would just emphasize we are acutely aware of that price differential and we want to do what we can,” Blank said in response.

Valdez later advocated for price reductions from Black Hills.

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Xcel Energy’s Michael Sapp said the utility provider can't yet offer specifics on what it might include in its clean heat plan, which must be filed by Aug. 1, 2023. But he said part of Xcel Energy’s net-zero goals include addressing how it purchases gas from upstream producers, identifying certified natural gas, and its private infrastructure to ensure it addresses any methane leakage.

“We’re going to look at every technology possible,” Sapp said of Xcel’s approach to the plan. “We’re working with the Polis administration on this new concept around hydrogen hubs — how do we tap into the Earth’s floor to generate that heat and how we can power our environment and homes without releasing harmful fossil fuels in the atmosphere?”

Sapp said Xcel Energy doesn’t view the bill as a ban on natural gas but is listening to concerns about harmful materials in natural gas from environmental activists and public health professionals.

Justina Pimental of Summit Utilities, which provides natural gas to customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, said the provider’s clean heat plan can be part of its mission to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy solutions.

For the plan, Summit Utilities wants “all options on the table,” Pimental said, though its participation in the program is optional since it serves less than 90,000 customers and its targets can be budget-based. If Summit Utilities chooses to file a clean heat plan, it will be subject to the same cost cap as other utility providers, Pimental said.

Pimental added that Summit Utilities anticipates reducing emissions from its fleet vehicles by 15% by 2025 and that it has pumped $1.8 million into its weatherization program since 2015. It has also started pipeline replacements to ensure its pipes are as leak-free as possible, she said, and conducts leak investigations more often than federally required.

One attendee at the meeting expressed mixed feelings about the charitable efforts from utility providers, believing they help people in need but are a result of increasing and excessive utility costs. She said donations to charitable organizations are turned around and given back in the form of payments and requested more regulation on those types of programs and the upcoming plans.

She also said it was time to fight back against the status quo regarding emissions.

“We have to reduce greenhouse gasses,” the woman said. “Net-zero is not zero. We have to be reducing greenhouse gasses for the future of the children in the coming generations, and these programs need to be making that happen, not just prolonging the use of fossil gas.”

Representatives from Black Hills Energy responded to one question about the company's weatherization programs after an attendee argued it could use some modifications after she failed to qualify for the desired weatherization in her rental.

Black Hills’ representatives said the provider received approval for its new demand-side management plan, which is expected to contain additional programs that are not based on income.

Valdez requested an extension on a meeting notice, a larger space and a kid-friendly environment for the next public session held in Pueblo so more voices can be heard.

Blank said the PUC is welcoming additional comments and questions in the next few months before it makes its decision on or before Dec. 1 regarding the rules around clean heat plans.

For more information, visit puc.colorado.gov/cleanheatplans. Written comments can be submitted through an online form or email at dora_puc_website@state.co.us.

Comments can be mailed to Colorado Public Utilities Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202.

Oral comments can be provided by calling 303-869-3490.

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Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Puebloans weigh in on Colorado clean heat plans during PUC meeting