"Strategic Issues'' Take Center Stage at PUC This Month
Colorado regulators will make major decisions in the next few months on the future of gas and electric programs in Xcel Energy territory. The Strategic Issues docket offers a planning process every five years for Demand Side Management (energy efficiency). This year, the focus is on a move to Beneficial Electrification, or transitioning more energy use from gas to electricity as the electric grid has grown cleaner. The proceeding will have far-reaching effects on efforts to electrify homes and commercial buildings, reduce gas use and speed the decarbonization of our economy.
Xcel filed detailed plans with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and now a variety of groups will be pushing for changes, including more progress. Solar CitiSuns want DSM to be used to take advantage of large amounts of wind and solar to lower the cost of electricity, lower carbon emissions and achieve reliable power even when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Among issues that will likely be debated:
--Much more ambitious goals for how much natural gas and electricity can be saved
-Proposals for a specific program to encourage solar thermal energy, for the first time
-Changes in the way Xcel gets rewarded for meeting energy saving targets
-Expanding Demand Response programs by opening them to companies outside Xcel so they can design mechanisms to reward people for using less when demand for energy is high
-Urgent needs for worker recruitment and training and contractor training
-Programs that will significantly increase the adoption of high-efficiency air source heat pumps
-Ways to ensure low-income Coloradans are included in the energy transition in an equitable way
