DENVER — Information obtained by Complete Colorado shows that Gov. Jared Polis continues to double down on a 100 percent renewable energy plan for the state by 2040, despite late last year admitting his current plan is already on a dangerous course for energy ratepayers.
In a letter obtained by Complete Colorado in October 2024, Governor Polis admitted he’s concerned Colorado is on track for the same large rate increases that are happening wherever “beneficial electrification” is tried, if the transition is not “carefully managed.”
Yet, on July 16, the governor’s Clean Energy Office (CEO) held a Zoom meeting with as many 100 “stakeholders” to discuss further legislation in the coming year to push Colorado towards full decarbonization of the state’s energy grid by 2040.
Notes taken first-hand by a participant of the meeting and obtained by Complete Colorado show the attendance list was so large that some on the meeting were not sure who all was involved, and included a mix of some in favor and some who questioned the process, the compressed timeline and the already rising cost of energy.
Complete Colorado has filed an open records request with the CEO for transcripts and copies of the meeting to further investigate exactly who was in attendance, the concerns raised in the meeting, and the full dialogue of the meeting.
According to the notes, officials from the Polis administration gave an introduction into what the legislation would look like, prompting several questions and concerns from some of those in attendance.
Issues expressed by participants include Colorado’s already high cost of living, increasing energy rates from existing state renewables mandates, the impact of a compressed timeline on wallets of “working people,” as well as the impact on the state’s business environment compared to the rest of the country, among other things.
Amy Oliver Cooke, director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center at the Independence Institute–which is also the publisher of Complete Colorado— said earlier this year that Governor Polis’ initial rhetoric about a “cost-effective, bottom-up, market-based transition” was either naive or deliberately misleading. “Coloradans are now staring down the reality of soaring costs, government overreach, and an electricity grid that won’t meet reliability standards,” said Cooke.
“If Polis had been transparent from the beginning and acknowledged the actual costs and challenges of his plan, the state could have pursued a more balanced and pragmatic approach to energy policy. Instead, we are left with an expensive, unreliable experiment in ideological policymaking, with taxpayers and ratepayers footing the bill.”
Complete Colorado will continue to follow the story as it progresses.
