Community Choice Electrical Generation, Colorado’s Climate Action Plan, and Stories We Are Reading!
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Community Choice Aggregation:
A legislative path to energy freedom
Community Choice Aggregation is an energy freedom program that permits a community to directly access the competitive market to procure power from the energy supplier they choose. This is in contrast to much of Colorado's current situation in which a monopoly utility is granted exclusive rights as a region's energy supplier by the state. The benefits of a free energy market are many; competitive markets can lead to lower rates, the ability to choose sustainably generated power, and the ability to invest in local solutions which create jobs and keeps money in the local economy. CEA endorses policies for energy freedom, and fortunately, local legislators and non-profits like
Energy Freedom Colorado
are working to make a path to energy freedom for Colorado.
To give you a better understanding of how it works, let’s begin with the power grid. The three main components of a power grid are energy
generation
,
transmission
(of electricity over long distances from power plants to local substations), and
distribution
(of electricity from a substation to the consumer).
Community choice aggregation
(CCA) is a cooperation between municipal utilities and investor-owned utilities (IOU) in which the municipal CCA purchases power independently, but the transmission, distribution, and customer interface are maintained by the local IOU as shown below. CCAs served about
3.3 million people
in 2016 and are growing rapidly in the
eight states
where they have been legalized, allowing municipalities in these states to choose their power sources in a way that reflects the values of their community, which include factors like cost, environmental impact, and supporting local energy businesses.
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Graphic from National Renewable Energy Labs website
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To implement CCA in Colorado, our legislature would need to enact CCA legislation, and the Public Utility Commission (PUC) would need to adopt corresponding rules and regulations. Several structural aspects of Colorado’s electricity grid could make this process more complicated than it has been for other states. For example, most states with CCA had already
restructured
their IOU to make separate companies for power generation and delivery, which simplifies the process of transitioning to municipally controlled power generation. Further, Colorado is not part of a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO), which is an independent, non-profit operator of a large, integrated transmission grid. Instead, each region’s transmission lines are controlled by the local utility, which complicates the task of transporting power from the generation site across a number of independently owned transmission systems to the municipality. Despite the challenges, we can overcome these obstacles and make the change. If you would like to learn more or help move Colorado forward, here are some links for you:
For general background information:
For Colorado specific information and/or to get involved in Colorado's policy efforts:
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Colorado’s Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution
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In the absence of an overarching federal framework guiding and incentivizing greenhouse gas emissions reductions, states are picking up the mantle and creating their own frameworks to address climate change. In fact,
23 states and Washington DC
have adopted targets for emissions reductions.
Colorado is the latest state to pass legislation requiring broad greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The law, passed during the 2019 legislative session, is titled Colorado’s
Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution
. The statutory mandate sets emissions reductions targets several decades into the future including goals of 50% emissions reduction by 2030, 90% by 2050 and interim targets to keep us on track along the way.
While this law establishes broad guidelines for decarbonization, the ball now rests with the Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission, who are set with translating statutory mandates into specific rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations, which are to be drafted by the summer of 2020, will spell out the specifics of how Colorado’s climate action plan will be implemented.
If you’re interested in staying apprised of rule-making developments or getting involved in the rule-making process, please visit the website of the
Air Quality Control Commission
.
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What We Are Reading
Tri-State Update
T
ri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State), which sells wholesale electricity to rural electric co-ops in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska, had two newsworthy announcements recently. First, they sent an
issue brief
to participating co-op members announcing it is considering changing its rate regulation from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). According to Tri-State, they believe FERC regulation would preempt them from state rate-regulation on generation, transmission rate-design, buyout disputes, and all other rate-related matters. In another
press release
, Tri-State announced its new Transformative Responsible Energy Plan. The plan, if implemented, would close one of Tri-State's Colorado coal plants, and task former governor Bill Ritter with leading a stakeholder process making the shift towards a more renewable portfolio. Click
here
and
here
for deeper explanations.
Beyond Carbon Program
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has pledged $500 million to combating climate change through his program called
Beyond Carbon
. The group aims to reduce electrical generation from coal and natural gas, as well as change state policies, elect candidates who will work towards addressing climate change, and grow the climate movement. For more, click
here
.
Fracking Report
A recent report examined the potential impact of fracking infrastructure on public health and global warming.
The report
, created by
Food and Water Watch
, concluded that existing and proposed infrastructure associated with US fracking could increase local plastic pollution, adversely affect human health and safety, and contribute to global warming. For more information click
here
.
Achieving Colorado's Climate Goals
The head of the Colorado Energy Office, Will Toor, recently sat down for an interview to detail how he plans to achieve Colorado's ambitious climate goals. Click
here
to read the conversation
Climate Change Court Battles
CEA's own Conor May wrote up a great summarization of legal battles surrounding the legal right to a livable climate. There is currently a case awaiting judgement in the 9th circuit court regarding whether or not climate change is denying young people the right to a habitable climate. For a recap on this court case with some great external sources included, click
here
.
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