DENVER–The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recently sided with Xcel Energy in overriding Elbert County’s denial of a permit for the monopoly utility’s $1.7 billion power line project. The decision was based on a rarely used state statute.
As previously reported by Complete Colorado, both Elbert and El Paso counties previously denied Xcel’s permit request to build a massive transmission line that slices directly through Colorado’s Eastern Plains.
Colorado’s Power Pathway Project is 550-mile line connecting wind and solar energy generated in eastern counties to Denver metro-area communities. The project is a vital part of Governor Polis’ ambitious, though increasingly unrealistic mandate for 100% renewable energy in Colorado by 2040.
County commissioners rejected Xcel’s permit request after significant protests and criticism from constituents.
While neither county is served by Xcel as an energy provider, the power line will run right through their respective jurisdictions, coming as close as 80 feet to residential homes. Cutting through a dozen different counties, the line is expected to decrease property value, negatively impact animal traffic, and increase wildfire risk.
Xcel sued the two county governments in July, claiming eminent domain over the land and accusing the counties of acting against the state’s best interest.
After filing in court, Xcel went to the PUC asking them to skip the public hearings and rather employ a statute allowing commissioners to override local land use decisions on oil and gas projects. The statute has been used only three times prior in the last 21 years.
Governor Polis’ Colorado Energy Office threw its support behind Xcel’s request, and the PUC voted 3-0 on April 10 to override Elbert’s denial.
Amy Cooke, Director of the Energy and Environmental Policy Center for Independence Institute (also the publisher of Complete Colorado), says the PUC decision is prime example of Colorado’s roughshod energy policy style.
“The PUC’s decision to override Elbert County is a window into how energy policy is made in Colorado: centralized, top-down, and insulated from the communities that bear the costs,” Cooke told Complete Colorado, “For the eastern plains, residents are being asked to host infrastructure primarily designed to serve demand elsewhere, while bearing the burdens of condemnation risk, landscape disruption, and loss of local control.”
With Elbert’s permit denial shot down, Xcel can continue moving forward with construction despite the case in El Paso County still pending.
The power pathway consists of five segments. Two are already built, two are currently under construction, and the last segment will now begin following the PUCs decision.
