Customers and local officials urge Colorado PUC to curb Xcel Energy’s proposed gas rate increase

May 21, 2025 — At a virtual public comment hearing before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, customers, local officials and public‑health and climate advocates urged commissioners to reject or substantially scale back Xcel Energy’s proposed gas rate increase, saying it would raise average residential bills and lock Colorado into costly gas infrastructure that undermines climate goals.

Megan Castle, communications director for the PUC, told the hearing the company filed the gas case on Dec. 29, 2025 as proceeding 25AL0538G and that if Xcel’s proposal were approved as filed, residential customers could see an average monthly increase of about 11.4% (roughly $7.59) and small businesses about 13% (about $36.37). Castle also said Xcel proposed a $5,000,000 shareholder‑funded contribution for a gas affordability program and that a commission decision is expected in the third quarter.

The hearing drew a cross‑section of Coloradans who described reliability problems, affordability concerns and climate risks. “Please don’t let us have the additional hardship of another rate increase,” said Robin Nijame, a Chaffee County resident who described repeated outages in Salida that caused spoiled food, lost work and — she alleged — utility crews parking on private property and obstructing emergency access. Nijame told commissioners a months‑long problem affecting her accounts was later fixed for her but questioned whether the same corrective action was applied statewide.

“Continued investment in gas infrastructure locks Colorado into decades of additional fossil fuel use,” said Dr. Claire Burchnell, a pediatrician and advocate with Healthy Air and Water Colorado, who urged the commission to reject system expansion costs that she said worsen asthma and other health problems and shift costs onto low‑income communities. “As a pediatrician, I can treat asthma, but I can’t prescribe clean air or affordable energy,” she said.

Jessica Burley, sustainability and parking manager for the Town of Breckenridge and chair of Colorado Communities for Climate Action, criticized the utility’s incentive structure and the company’s requested return on equity (which she cited at 10.75%). She said regulatory incentives that reward investment in long‑lived gas assets can transfer household wealth to shareholders and urged the PUC to tie any higher returns to measurable improvements in reliability and affordability.

Several commenters raised the company’s recent profitability and executive pay. “When a company is profitable enough to pay its CEO $16,000,000, it has resources,” said Desi Parker, an Xcel customer from Monte Vista, describing the San Luis Valley as a low‑income area that would be disproportionately affected by higher rates.

Local officials also spoke. Clear Creek County Commissioner George Marlin asked the commission to scrutinize whether proposed gas projects are consistent with Colorado law and the state’s climate goals and said Xcel had addressed about 17,000 pipeline leaks since 2023 — a statistic he cited as evidence of continuing system problems. “These reductions cannot be achieved by building more gas infrastructure,” Marlin said.

Business and small‑business groups raised affordability concerns for employers. Donnie Clemons, executive director of Good Business Colorado, urged the commission to link returns above floor levels to measurable reliability and affordability improvements and noted thousands of Coloradans were behind on utility bills as of November 2025.

Commenters framed the rate request as both a near‑term affordability issue and a longer‑term planning question about whether customers should finance investments that may become stranded as Colorado shifts to cleaner heating technologies. No formal action or vote was taken at the hearing; commissioners listened but did not engage in dialogue during public comment, consistent with the PUC’s role while the case proceeds to evidentiary hearings in July.

The PUC will accept written comments through its e‑filing system and plans a second virtual public comment hearing on July 28. The commission expects to rule on the case in late summer after evidentiary hearings and further filings.