Skyrocketing energy prices prompted Gov. Jared Polis on Monday to direct Colorado’s agencies and energy regulators to find ways to offer immediate relief to businesses and residents who have been groaning under enormous utility bills, particularly in the last few weeks.    

Among other things, Polis, who touted saving Coloradans money in his reelection campaign last year, wants the Public Utilities Commission to “analyze ways to limit bill spikes.”

In a letter to the commission, the governor said natural gas prices are imposing “terrible burdens on households and businesses,” not to mention their “long-term consequences” for Colorado’s competitiveness as a place to live and work.

“I am calling on state agencies to work collaboratively with the state’s utilities and others to develop responses that can help reduce the energy cost burden,” he said.

In particular, the governor wants energy regulators to look at using federal dollars to reduce energy costs. He lamented — again — that customers are bearing the burden of paying for “unexpected, exceptional costs without extraordinary efforts to reduce usage and proactive information sharing with customers.”

Polis is referring to the regulator’s decision to allow Xcel to recover $500 million from their customers to pay for the cost of buying natural gas during a cold snap in 2021.  

But it’s not apparent how the governor’s instructions to state regulators and energy officials would translate to providing immediate relief to Coloradans, as the biggest driver of the sharp hike in energy bill is largely beyond the state’s control. 

More specifically, PUC chief economist Erin O’Neill earlier presented to the commission four reasons for the soaring energy bills that customers saw in November and December last year. Atop that list is the cost of natural gas, which increased by 40% compared to last year. In addition, the use of natural gas also rose by 30% because of the significantly cold weather in December. 

O’Neil noted that compared to last year, a typical Xcel Energy customer in December faced an increase of 25% in their electricity bills and 75% in their gas bills.

But O’Neill also cited two other reasons that directly resulted from state actions. 

In particular, Colorado’s regulators allowed Xcel to charge their customers $500 million for the extraordinary fuel costs incurred during Winter Storm Uri, the four-day weather event in 2021 that  hammered the U.S. Northern Mexico, and parts of Canada and which, in particular, wrecked havoc in Texas. The regulators approved the request even as they expressed misgivings at how Colorado’s biggest utility company handled the cold snap, a decision that frustrated Polis. 

That cost made up 11% of Xcel’s energy bills, according to O’Neil’s presentation.

O’Neil also said the rate hikes that energy regulators approved also contributed. 

All told, these factors added $87 to energy bills. 

Bill Levis, a consultant for AARP Colorado, earlier said the fees that utilities added to customers’ bills as a result of legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly and signed by Polis amounted to a rate hike for ratepayers of more than 6%, plus a $0.50 charge.

In his letter to the Public Utilities Commission, Polis also asked energy regulators to: 

• Improve access to and capacity of bill pay assistance programs

• Work with utilities to secure federal funding for programs targeting Colorado homes and businesses

• Incentivize utilities to reduce customer costs

• Identify potential utility actions on gas contracting, financial hedging, and gas storage, as well as on educating consumers on energy conservation

• Figure out ways to support consumers in the most dire circumstances, including reaching out about payment options for those behind on their bills

• Implement new approaches to increase public engagement with utility issues at the PUC

In addition, Polis directed the Colorado Energy Office to:

• Expedite the creation of federally-funded home energy rebate and other programs

• Identify new regulatory approaches and rate structures to align with customer and utility conservation incentives

• Implement the state’s building performance standards, which apply to large multifamily residences to reduce utility bills 

• Consider establishing new statewide building energy codes and provide technical assistance to local governments that adopt the codes, in collaboration with the Department of Local Affairs, with the goal of reducing utility bills 

• Implement microgrid programs with state and federal funding

“We must leave no stone unturned to save Coloradans money on utility bills,” said the governor.

He added: “Coloradans need near-term and long-term relief on their energy bills and today I am laying out ways state entities and utilities can take action to help save people money on their energy costs, to identify and implement opportunities to protect Colorado consumers, lower costs, and avoid price swings like the one we’re experiencing now.”

The governor noted that, at the start of the winter this year, gas bills jumped by 75% compared to last year.

Energy customers — many of whom say they are being crushed by gas and electricity bills that have doubled, tripled and even quadrupled in the last few months — gave Colorado’s energy regulators an earful last week, some of whom accused the commission of favoring the interests of corporations. 

Lakewood resident Eva Boyd, for example, excoriated the commissioners for what she said is their failure to look after the public’s interests.

“I’ve been living here for about 26 years,” Boyd said. “January 2022’s bill was $124. December 2022 was $194. The next one that I’m going to pay in February is $295, which to me is absolutely mind boggling.”

Boyd added: “You’re supposed to be looking out for us. And somebody already said it here: You shouldn’t be looking out for corporations.”