Colorado is at a crossroads: How do we meet our climate goals without worsening affordability, straining energy reliability, limiting our workforce, or driving up the cost of doing business? 

As members of the Colorado Energy Crossroads Coalition, a diverse statewide coalition of labor, business, utilities and consumer advocates, we share a commitment to meeting Colorado’s climate goals. But we also believe a fundamental reality must guide this conversation: How we get there matters just as much as the goal itself. 

Energy costs are already rising. Over the past several years, electricity prices have increased significantly for both households and businesses on both a local and national level. Colorado’s energy bills have increased between 15%-20% over the last five years alone, and the state’s utility commission is projecting that rates could rise as much as 55% more by 2029.  

The key factor in the increasing cost of energy is how we approach the transition from traditional forms to newer, grid-heavy, renewables. And in Colorado, while we are already on track to meet robust emissions reductions goals, Gov. Polis, and state policymakers are working with special interest groups to mandate even more aggressive timelines. This, despite the fact a recent poll shows 64% of voters opposed to a plan to transition Colorado to 100% clean energy by 2040 because of the $110 billion price tag. Likewise, 57% of the respondents said they would not pay more for solely clean energy in their homes.      

Over the past decade, our greenhouse gas emissions have declined, most notably in the power sector, which reduced its per capita emissions by 29% between 2005 – 2022. These achievements are driven by innovation, investment, and collaboration across industries. 

Utilities are working to retire coal plants, expand renewable energy sources, and modernize methods of transmission, while businesses are innovating, and finding ways to cost effectively retrofit and scale back energy consumption. Our skilled trades workers are ready and trained to build the workforce needed for the future. And consumer advocates are working to ensure our most vulnerable residents are not left behind or left to face a disproportionate burden of cost.  

But that progress is being made based on current reduction targets. The governor’s effort with the environmental community to further accelerate those timelines is arbitrary and will have far reaching impacts. While we share a commitment to meet our state’s climate goals, we need to understand a fundamental reality: how we get there matters just as much as the goal itself. 

And as we all know, energy systems are incredibly complex. Electricity prices aren’t determined by just one thing. They are a unique combination of how the utility is structured, how regulators oversee them, regional discrepancy based on fuel prices, and how often the grid is stressed by extreme weather conditions.  

Efforts to accelerate emissions timelines beyond what infrastructure, technology, and workforce capacity can support risk creating unintended consequences, especially in the areas of affordability and reliability.   

Affordability should not be an afterthought: Across Colorado, families are already under financial strain. Housing costs have surged and gas prices are on the rise nationally, forcing many households to make difficult tradeoffs.  

Since 2011, the state has lost more than 250,000 rental units priced at $1,000 or less per month. Many households now spend over 30% of their income on housing, not including utility costs which further increase the burden.  

With housing and energy costs already rising, it begs the question: what are our state’s priorities? We need to reduce emissions, but at what cost to Coloradans?  

Reliability must remain non-negotiable: Reliability is not a theoretical concept; it’s the backbone of modern life. It powers hospitals, supports businesses, and ensures public safety. And challenges to our energy reliability have major impacts. We need only to look at recent major wind events to see how Colorado’s assumption of reliability has changed. 

The transition to cleaner energy will require massive investments in transmission, storage and new forms of generation. But many of these projects take time, often years, to permit, finance, and build. While many advanced energy solutions are promising, too many remain unproven, unfunded, or not yet deployable at scale.  

The governor and special interest group’s plan acknowledges this reality but suggests aggressive timelines for emissions reductions at a pace today’s technologies just simply can’t support. And Coloradan’s agree: 2/3 of people who responded to recent polling oppose the governor’s plan to accelerate these timelines due to the possibility of rolling blackouts like they have in California. 

Colorado cannot afford to retire dispatchable generation faster than reliable replacements are commercially ready and built. Doing so risks undermining the very reliability the bill claims to protect.   

Workforce and economic competitiveness matters: Colorado’s skilled trades workforce is essential to building the energy system of the future. Electricians, line workers, and construction professionals stand ready to build, but they cannot be trained overnight, and projects cannot be successful without clear timelines and financial certainty.    

When policy shifts create uncertainty, it’s not just the companies that feel the impact; it’s the workers whose livelihoods depend on steady, achievable energy infrastructure projects.  

For Colorado businesses, the stakes are just as high. Our state has consistently fallen in national economic ratings, and staying competitive means giving businesses a stable, predictable environment, especially because energy is major operating cost. Policies that introduce volatility can push investments and employment opportunities elsewhere, and energy and regulatory mandates are already contributing to perceptions that Colorado’s business environment is increasingly costly.  

A balanced path forward: Colorado has more than proven that innovation has driven emissions reductions but arbitrary mandates instead of thoughtful, balanced policymaking challenges that reality.  

As state leaders consider the future of Colorado’s energy policy, it is critical to evaluate the full picture: cost, reliability, workforce capacity, and economic impact. With only weeks remaining in the session, this issue is too consequential to rush or get wrong. As state leaders consider the future of Colorado’s energy policy, it is critical to evaluate the full picture: cost, reliability, workforce capacity, and economic impact.  

We urge policymakers to remember a principle that should guide every major energy decision: first do no harm. Progress must continue, but it must be grounded in what is achievable. 

The path forward should not force a choice between climate progress and affordability; Colorado must deliver both. Our state is at an energy crossroad. The decisions made this session will shape our economy, our grid, and our communities for decades. 

We encourage our fellow Coloradans to make their voices heard on this issue. Contact your state legislators and urge them to support energy policies that are reliable, affordable and support Colorado’s industry to innovate.  

Progress means nothing to Coloradans if they can’t afford or rely on the energy that powers every day of their lives. 

Cecil Courtney is business manager of Denver Pipefitters Local Union 208. Dave Davia is president & CEO of Colorado Concern. Meghan Dollar is senior vice president of governmental affairs and political operations for the Colorado Chamber of Commerce. Jennifer Gremmert is CEO of Energy Outreach Colorado.