Senate committee advances bill to speed community solar interconnections and index bill credits

Senators advanced House Bill 12-25, a bill focused on distributed energy resources and community solar, after hearing broad stakeholder support and adopting a sponsor amendment clarifying the working-group process and protections for ratepayers.

Sponsors said the bill addresses three challenges: the Public Utilities Commission’s interpretation of a prior fixed-bill-credit law, the high upfront cost and long timeline for interconnection upgrades, and the need to accelerate projects before federal tax credits decline after 2029. Sponsor Mike Foote (Colorado Solar and Storage Association) and others said indexing bill credits to electricity rates — rather than leaving the credit literally fixed — would restore predictability for developers and income-qualified subscribers.

The bill also establishes a utility-led working group to explore options including using surety bonds and permitting third-party developers to lead interconnection studies and build upgrades to shorten timelines. Proponents pointed to other states where developer-led network upgrades have sped interconnection and reduced costs. Representative Lori Sain and industry witnesses described community solar’s benefits for rural landowners, local tax bases and low-income subscribers.

Black Hills Energy testified in an amend position, asking for cost caps and protection for non-subscribing customers; sponsors said the adopted amendment (L-15) clarifies that working-group recommendations cannot override the Public Utilities Commission’s rulemaking authority and that third-party work would not be paid for by ratepayers. After adoption of L-15, the committee moved HB12-25 as amended to the Committee of the Whole; the vote was recorded 6–2 in favor.

The amendment also requires utilities to file a report with the Commission summarizing working-group recommendations and any implementation proposals that need PUC approval. Sponsors said the changes preserve safety and reliability while seeking to reduce interconnection delays that threaten projects previously allocated by the General Assembly.