Denver, CO — Today the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) declined to approve much of Xcel Energy’s Gas Infrastructure Plan (GIP), which lays out the utility’s forecasted investments in methane gas infrastructure over the coming years. The PUC largely agreed with environmental groups that Xcel must consider alternatives that better promote affordability and meet Colorado’s clean energy goals. Xcel requested approval of a plan to spend $2.9 billion on its methane gas pipeline system from 2025-2030 and to charge customers for this infrastructure for decades to come. The PUC rejected many of Xcel’s requests for approval of its proposed gas infrastructure project budgets, citing concerns that Xcel is biased by its profit motive to spend more money on gas infrastructure that does not benefit customers or align with Colorado’s climate objectives. Xcel executives are making millions of dollars each year even as customer complaints and service disconnections have increased. “Today the PUC continues to recognize that methane gas infrastructure creates enormous societal costs on our environment and energy bills,” said Sarah Tresedder, Senior Energy Organizer for Sierra Club Colorado. “Continuing to invest in dated infrastructure is not economic when Xcel operates an electric utility that can provide the same services with less environmental and cost risk. The PUC must continue requiring Xcel Energy to encourage the adoption of efficient technologies that require less work, less waste and that are ultimately safer.” The PUC adopted proposals from several public interest groups that included better aligning forecasts of gas system needs with state decarbonization policy, a cost-saving non-pipeline alternative program to offer electrification incentives for customers whose gas service lines Xcel plans to replace, which the Commission directed Xcel to propose in its upcoming Clean Heat Plan, and using an expert-developed tool to identify the best opportunities for non-pipeline alternatives. “Xcel has an opportunity to give households a real choice to switch to cleaner, healthier electric alternatives — all while saving their gas customers millions on their bills,” said Kiki Velez, Equitable Gas Transition Lead at NRDC. “Instead of spending more than $375 million replacing the pipelines that connect individual homes to the gas system, that money should go toward making electric options accessible for customers who want it.” These measures will help ensure that Xcel aligns its plans to build and maintain energy infrastructure with state and local clean energy policies, and fairly considers alternatives to methane pipelines. Many of the measures proposed by public interest groups will be implemented in future PUC proceedings, including the ongoing gas rate case where Xcel has asked to charge customers $190 million more per year to pay for gas pipeline costs, and the Clean Heat Plan that Xcel will file this summer to meet Colorado’s clean heat targets. “In 2026, it’s absurd for any utility to pour billions of dollars into new methane gas pipelines and expect to pass the costs to customers,” said Michael Kenney, Building Decarbonization Manager at WRA. “Colorado has established clear goals to reduce emissions from the gas system, yet Xcel’s request would have locked consumers into using more polluting methane gas and increasing their bills. The PUC’s decision is a clear win for Coloradans by prioritizing consumer protections and affordable solutions over utility profits.” According to a recent report, Xcel and other gas utilities are charging customers more for expansive capital spending to expand their profits even when customers use less gas. “If it feels wrong that customer costs are going up even when they are using less gas, that’s because it is. Expanding gas pipelines now is an inappropriate effort to lock in future costs and shareholder profits even when those expansions don’t benefit communities, businesses and families,” said Ramon Alatorre, Senior Program Manager at SWEEP. “Instead, Xcel should align its plans with a healthy transition to all-electric buildings powered by affordable clean energy.” “The Commission’s decision reflects growing recognition that utilities cannot continue making multi-billion dollar gas investments without fully demonstrating that those projects are necessary, affordable, and aligned with Colorado’s energy future,” said Rebecca Curry, Policy Director at Rewiring America. “Regulators made clear that Xcel must better substantiate its load forecasts to avoid overbuilding, rigorously evaluate lower-cost alternatives and provide a more transparent and complete record before customers are asked to pay for decades of additional gas infrastructure.” “We are pleased that the PUC denied much of Xcel’s plan that would have locked Colorado into years of costly methane gas infrastructure,” said Leslie Coleman, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “It is unconscionable for the state’s largest utility to be proposing substantial new gas system investments rather than cheaper clean energy alternatives that further both customer affordability and our climate goals.” Rewiring America, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (both represented by Earthjustice), Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Western Resource Advocates jointly intervened in the GIP as the Conservation Advocates. The Conservation Advocates proposed a joint set of recommendations to the PUC with several other parties, including Colorado Communities for Climate Action, Denver, the PUC’s Trial Staff, and Colorado’s Utility Consumer Advocate. About the Sierra Club The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
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