"State Senator McElhany said the bill at first blush appears to be an ordinary "sunset-review" measure that is meant simply to keep the PUC functioning another 11 years. However, the additional provisions tucked inside represent a fundamental change in policy....
House Bill 1227, introduced in the House by that chamber's majority leader, Boulder Democrat Alice Madden, would bring other cabinet agencies in the Ritter administration into the deliberations of the quasi-judicial regulatory board.
The bill also would require the PUC to consider "economic, social and environmental" factors in matters that come before the body. Right now, the PUC's members are supposed to consider price and access when regulating the rates and quality of service of telephone, gas, electric and water utilities in the state. ..This bill looks like an open invitation to every fringe element in the other party to force their ideology into the regulatory process and drive up our bills McElhany said" Colorado Senate News
Even The Rocky Mountain News has concerns: "The proposed law is an invitation to turn the consumer counsel into
another advocate for renewable energy even when it's not cost
competitive - as if there weren't enough articulate voices already
making that case...." Full Editorial Here
I'll read the bill just as soon as it gets light enough to start my solar car and get to work.
