Natural gas for heating, cooking and hot water could be harder — or more expensive — to come by with the advent of new Colorado rules scrutinizing new gas line construction, or extending existing lines.
New rules affecting gas utility companies have the potential to limit system expansion and increase the costs of installing natural gas in new construction, say officials at the Colorado Energy Office.
Xcel Energy officials warned the new rules have the potential to, for all intents and purposes, ban line extensions.
The new planning rules for gas utilities with more than 90,000 retail customers are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as ordered by the General Assembly with the passage of the “Adopt Programs Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Utilities” Senate Bill 21-264 and House Bill 21-1238, “Public Utilities Commission Modernize Gas Utility Demand-side Management Standards.” The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) implemented the rules Dec. 1.
See the full article by Louis Markos, December 16, 2022