Energy Outreach Colorado urges $25 million RESA refund to aid income-qualified customers
June 17, 2026 | Public Utilities Commission, Governor's Boards and Commissions, Organizations, Executive, Colorado
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Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) urged the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on June 17 to authorize a programmatic refund of Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment (RESA) overcollections to provide targeted bill assistance for income-qualified (IQ) customers.
Andrew Bennett, EOC's vice president of advocacy, renewed a request first filed in the RES proceeding: give EOC a pool of RESA funds to distribute to IQ households that did not receive anticipated community-solar benefits under the 2022 2025 plan. Bennett described the ask as a refund mechanism rather than a utility-run program and said EOC would administer payments and report audited results to the legislature and the company.
Why it matters: Commissioners and intervenors noted the RES plan for 2026 2027 already budgets significant community-solar capacity and anticipates drawing down accumulated RESA balances. EOC's proposal seeks to use a portion of the existing overcollection to compensate IQ customers for missed benefits and to accelerate assistance to vulnerable households.
What EOC proposed: Bennett told the commission he had advocated for a $25 million allocation in the earlier RES docket and framed a practical alternative (a $5 million refund over five years was mentioned in some testimony) that would be administered by EOC as energy-assistance payments. He said distributions would be tracked in EOC's audited annual reports and that EOC could separate any RESA refund accounting in those filings.
Objections and legal questions: Staff and company counsel pressed Bennett on whether the commission could lawfully redirect RESA balances that were budgeted in the approved 2026 2027 RES plan. Staff counsel pointed out that the plan anticipates drawing down the balance and that the budget figures are already approved; Bennett replied that the commission has discretion over how overcollections are ultimately used and that a refund to IQ customers could be handled administratively without reopening the prior decision.
Program mechanics and scope: During cross-examination, witnesses discussed how EOC would spend and report the funds, whether administrative costs could be capped, and how any refund would interact with other low-income programs (LEAP, EEBT). EOC said funds would primarily be used for direct bill assistance (payments or pledges to prevent disconnection), not to cover general operating salaries, and that standard audit procedures would document the distribution.
Context on community solar: EOC and staff also discussed the 206 MW of capacity rolled from the 2022 2025 plan into 2026 2027 and statutory requirements that in many community-solar subscriptions a minimum of 51% of capacity be reserved for IQ customers. Bennett noted programmatic differences: some future gardens may only guarantee a 25% bill credit (statutory floor) while EOC's assistance model targets larger savings for participants.
What comes next: The commission did not decide on the request at hearing. The record closed subject to limited exhibit updates; parties must file statements of position by July 10, 2026. Any commission action to transfer RESA funds would likely be contentious and could require a clear legal path or a revision of budgeted RESA uses.
Andrew Bennett, EOC's vice president of advocacy, renewed a request first filed in the RES proceeding: give EOC a pool of RESA funds to distribute to IQ households that did not receive anticipated community-solar benefits under the 2022 2025 plan. Bennett described the ask as a refund mechanism rather than a utility-run program and said EOC would administer payments and report audited results to the legislature and the company.
Why it matters: Commissioners and intervenors noted the RES plan for 2026 2027 already budgets significant community-solar capacity and anticipates drawing down accumulated RESA balances. EOC's proposal seeks to use a portion of the existing overcollection to compensate IQ customers for missed benefits and to accelerate assistance to vulnerable households.
What EOC proposed: Bennett told the commission he had advocated for a $25 million allocation in the earlier RES docket and framed a practical alternative (a $5 million refund over five years was mentioned in some testimony) that would be administered by EOC as energy-assistance payments. He said distributions would be tracked in EOC's audited annual reports and that EOC could separate any RESA refund accounting in those filings.
Objections and legal questions: Staff and company counsel pressed Bennett on whether the commission could lawfully redirect RESA balances that were budgeted in the approved 2026 2027 RES plan. Staff counsel pointed out that the plan anticipates drawing down the balance and that the budget figures are already approved; Bennett replied that the commission has discretion over how overcollections are ultimately used and that a refund to IQ customers could be handled administratively without reopening the prior decision.
Program mechanics and scope: During cross-examination, witnesses discussed how EOC would spend and report the funds, whether administrative costs could be capped, and how any refund would interact with other low-income programs (LEAP, EEBT). EOC said funds would primarily be used for direct bill assistance (payments or pledges to prevent disconnection), not to cover general operating salaries, and that standard audit procedures would document the distribution.
Context on community solar: EOC and staff also discussed the 206 MW of capacity rolled from the 2022 2025 plan into 2026 2027 and statutory requirements that in many community-solar subscriptions a minimum of 51% of capacity be reserved for IQ customers. Bennett noted programmatic differences: some future gardens may only guarantee a 25% bill credit (statutory floor) while EOC's assistance model targets larger savings for participants.
What comes next: The commission did not decide on the request at hearing. The record closed subject to limited exhibit updates; parties must file statements of position by July 10, 2026. Any commission action to transfer RESA funds would likely be contentious and could require a clear legal path or a revision of budgeted RESA uses.
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