I_TLRC_2018A 08/20/2018 09:02:00 AM Committee Summary

The committee came back to order. Mr. Grier Bailey, representing the Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association (CWPMA), came to the table to discuss possible committee legislation. He distributed a handout to the committee [Attachment E]. Mr. Kirk Swallow, representing Swallow Oil Company and CWPMA, and Mr. Troy Hill, representing Hill Petroleaom and CWPMA, also discussed potential committee legislation.

Mr. Bailey continued by discussing the petroleum exemption process. Mr. Hill and Mr. Swallow both discussed their companies experiences transporting hazardous materials in Colorado.

In response to committee questions, Mr. Bailey discussed community input processes in the transportation of hazardous materials.

Mr. Andy Karsian, representing the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), came to the table to answer committee questions.

Mr. Greg Fulton, representing the Colorado Motor Carriers Association (CMCA), came to the table to provide an overview on the trucking industry and discuss the challenges facing the industry.

Mr. Fulton distributed a handout to the committee [Attachment F]. He also continued discussing issues at an intersection in Aurora that was raised by the CWPMA and highlighting several issues related to the industry's driver shortage.

Mr. Bailey, Mr. Fulton, and Ms. Shayne Madsen came to the table to discuss a potential piece of legislation regarding driver's licenses for children in foster care.  They distributed a handout to the committee [Attachment G].

Mr. Josh Laipply, representing CDOT, came to the table to discuss a potential legislation regarding CDOT's right-of-way acquisition process.  He distributed a copy of his presentation to the committee [Attachment H].

Mayor Heidi Williams and Mr. Tim Stewart, representing the E-470 Public Highway Authority, presented an update to the committee on the authority's activities over the past year.  Mr. Stewart distributed a packet of information to the committee [Attachment A].  Attachement A is available upon request at Legislative Council.  Mr. Stewart continued by discussing debt service, traffic trends, electronic and license plate tolling, and customer service efforts. 

Councilmember David Beacom, representing the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority, came to the table to update the committee on the authoritie's recent activities.  He distributed a copy of his presentation [Attachment B].  Mr. Beacom presented an overview of the authority and parkway.  He discussed the parkway's concession agreement, traffic history, toll revenue, and toll rates.

Mr. Bill Ray, representing the Jefferson Parkway Public Highway Authority, came to the table to discuss the authority's activities.  He distributed a handout to the committee [Attachment C].   Mr. Ray continued by discussing the authority's history and next steps towards completion of the parkway.  He answered several committee questions.

Chairman Jeffrey Ackerman, representing himself as a Public Utilities Commissoner, came to the table to discuss electricity generation and transmission.  He distributed a handout to the committee [Attachment D].  Comissioner Ackerman provided an introduction of serveral common market-related terms and highlighted several policy considerations currently facing regulators.

Commissioner Ackerman, in response to comittee questions, discussed regional transmission orgranization (RTO) models and governance.  He also discussed the Public Utilities Commission's role in electricty RTOs.

Mr. Jason Frisbie, representing the Platte River Power Authority, came to table to discuss services provided by the authority, along with power transmission and generation in Colorado.

Ms. Mary Ann Zehr, representing Tri-State Generation and Transmission, came to the table to discuss Tri-State's recent activities.

Mr. Dan Kline, representing Black Hills Energy, came to the table to discuss electricity transmission and distribution.  He noted that each individual utility faces different challenges when joining an RTO and its impact on customers.

Mr. Joe Taylor, representing Xcel Energy, came to the table to discuss Xcel Energy's participation in RTOs.

In response to committee questions, Mr. Frisbie, Ms. Zehr, Mr. Kline, and Mr. Taylor answered addtional questions regarding policy considerations and decision-making processes utilities unergoe when deciding whether to join an RTO.

Mr. Eric Tharp, representing Colorado Springs Utilities, discussed his company's transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Mr. Bryan Hannegan, representing Holy Cross Energy, came to the table to discuss Holy Cross's response to recent wildfires.  He continued by discussing resilienancy, the roles played by rural electric associations, electric system diversity, and local decision making.

Mr. John Parker, representing United Power Cooperative, came to the table to discuss United Power's services and viewpoints on RTO memebership.

In response to committee questions, Mr. Tharp, Mr. Hannegan, and Mr. Parker discussed the postitive and negative aspects of joining an RTO.

Mr. Bill Malcolm and Mr. Bill Levis, representing AARP, came to the table to discuss electricity transmission and Colorado's possible participation in an RTO.

Ms. Michelle King, representing Colorado Energy Consumers, came to the table to discuss the group's activities and possible Colorado participation in an RTO.

Ms. Meredith Kapushion, representing the Independence Institute, discussed electricity transmission and Colorado's participation in an RTO.

Mr. Mike Nasi, representing the Coalition of Ratepayers, came to the table to address Colorado RTO participation and answer committee questions.

The committee recessed.