Colorado § 40-3.2-202 Legislative declaration

Colorado Statutes

§ 40-3.2-202 — Legislative declaration

Colorado § 40-3.2-202

Title 40Utilities

Art.Air Quality Improvement Costs

This text of Colorado § 40-3.2-202 (Legislative declaration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-3.2-202 (2026).

Text

(1)The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 7401 et seq., will likely require reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants operated by rate-regulated utilities in Colorado. A coordinated plan of emission reductions from these coal-fired power plants will enable Colorado rate-regulated utilities to meet the requirements of the federal act and protect public health and the environment at a lower cost than a piecemeal approach. A coordinated plan of reduction of emissions for Colorado's rate-regulated utilities will also result in reductions in many air pollutants and promote the use of natural gas and other low-emitting resources to meet Colorado's electricity needs, which will in turn promote development of

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(1) The general assembly hereby finds,
determines, and declares that the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 7401 et
seq., will likely require reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants
operated by rate-regulated utilities in Colorado. A coordinated plan of emission
reductions from these coal-fired power plants will enable Colorado rate-regulated
utilities to meet the requirements of the federal act and protect public health and
the environment at a lower cost than a piecemeal approach. A coordinated plan of
reduction of emissions for Colorado's rate-regulated utilities will also result in
reductions in many air pollutants and promote the use of natural gas and other low-emitting resources to meet Colorado's electricity needs, which will in turn promote
development of Colorado's economy and industry.

(2) The general assembly further finds that the use of natural gas to reduce
coal-fired emissions may require rate-regulated utilities to enter into long-term
contracts for natural gas in a manner that protects electricity consumers. Even
though such long-term contracts might be beneficial to consumers, financial rating
agencies could find that such long-term contracts increase the financial risk to
rate-regulated utilities, which in turn could increase the cost of capital to these
utilities. The general assembly finds that it is important to give financial markets
confidence that utilities will be able to recover the costs of long-term gas contracts
without the risk of future regulators disallowing contracts.

(3) The general assembly further finds and declares that Colorado rate-regulated utilities require timely and forward-looking reviews of their costs of
providing utility service in order to undertake the comprehensive and extensive
planning and changes to their business operations contemplated by this part 2. In
order to allow these utilities to continue to provide reliable electric service, alter
their operations in the manner described by this part 2, and meet other state public
policy goals, it is imperative that Colorado rate-regulated utilities continue in sound
financial condition and remain attractive investments so that sufficient capital is
provided to achieve the state's goals. To that end, the general assembly finds that
the commission should have additional tools and more flexibility in its regulatory
authority to ensure the continued financial health of these utilities. The general
assembly also finds and declares that the actions provided for in this part 2 be
implemented in a manner to address the sound economic, health, and
environmental conditions of energy producing communities.