Reduce Cost of Use of Natural Gas

The bill requires the Colorado energy office to issue a request for information by December 1, 2024, to solicit interest from local governments that are served by a dual-fuel utility (utility) in becoming a gas planning priority community (community). A gas planning priority community is defined in the bill as a local government in which constituents have gas service provided by a dual-fuel utility that formally indicates an interest in working with the utility to mutually explore opportunities for neighborhood-scale alternatives projects. A neighborhood-scale alternatives project geographically targets decommissioning of a portion of the gas distribution system or avoids expanding the gas distribution system in order to serve new construction projects and provides substitute energy service to buildings within the project area that is cost-effective and reduces future greenhouse gas emissions required to serve buildings.

By April 30, 2025, the Colorado energy office and the utility must jointly file with the public utilities commission (commission) the results of the request for information, identifying any proposed communities. The Colorado energy office and the utility must also file a draft agreement between the utility and a proposed community to identify and pursue a neighborhood-scale alternatives project. The commission must approve or modify the list of proposed communities by June 30, 2025.

By October 1, 2025, a utility and each approved community must enter into an agreement, and the utility must submit to the commission a list of the communities with which the utility has entered into an agreement. For each approved community, the utility is required to disclose certain information to the Colorado energy office, the commission, and the community, including a map with information regarding the utility's gas distribution and electric systems and operations within the community.

The bill requires the utility to work with an approved community to rank neighborhood-scale alternatives projects and, before June 1, 2026, to submit at least one neighborhood-scale alternatives project in each community to the commission for approval or an explanation of why no neighborhood-scale alternatives project will be pursued in a community.

By June 1 of each year following approval of a neighborhood-scale alternatives project, a utility is required to submit a report to the commission on the implementation of any approved neighborhood-scale alternatives projects. The commission must allow the utility to recover costs incurred from the implementation of a neighborhood-scale alternatives project.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)