Letter to the editor: Colorado Public Utilities Commission tightens climate screws
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has just issued a decision to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 41 percent by 2035 (from a 2015 baseline).
The previous limit had been a 22 percent by 2030. This mandate will likely force many families and businesses to switch to expensive electric appliances and heating systems. For example, natural gas is roughly four times less expensive than electricity on a per-unit-of energy basis. Xcel Energy estimates that converting to electric heating can cost more than $20,000 before incentives.
This would come on top of the roughly 10 percent base rate increase Xcel is currently seeking. The Colorado-based Common Sense Institute projects electricity rates could rise 56 percent by 2030. This would add $504 annually to the average household bill, and businesses could see 25,000 job losses. Unfortunately, Colorado’s political leaders continue to prioritize their climate-catastrophe agenda over affordability and economic impact.
We should be learning from Europe’s failing decarbonization movement, which has resulted in sky-high electricity prices and economy-wide deindustrialization. British wholesale electricity costs are 80 percent higher than in the U.S., with consumers forced to continually ration their energy usage.
This latest PUC mandate shows that climate activists continue to mislead the public and push policies based on a debunked doomsday narrative. Before it is too late, we must demand that our political leaders focus on reliable and affordable energy, and not virtue signaling legislation that has no benefit to the environment or the utility consumer.