Lawmakers look to overhaul Colorado's power grid as demand for electricity and concerns about reliability grow
As Coloradans take advantage of financial incentives to go green, the state's power grid is straining under the increased demand for electricity.
According to the Colorado Energy Office, 9% of our energy comes from solar,16% of new vehicles sold here are electric and more than 61,000 homes have traded gas furnaces for electric heat pumps.
"It's a really exciting time because all of those things are helping to improve our environment and lowers costs for consumers but we've got to make sure that we've got a grid that can handle that change," says Democratic state Sen. Chris Hansen.
He and state Senate President Steve Fenberg have introduced a bill to overhaul the electricity grid.
"This bill would really supercharge that effort, have some immediate new investment over the next two years and then create a planning process for years two, three, four, five and beyond so we can keep up the pace and get this work done," says Hansen.
The state has already made big investments in the generation of clean energy, and transmission of it, but the distribution system -- the lines that connect substations to transformers to homes -- has not been updated.
"This is our chance to see where things are headed and get there at the right time," Hansen said.
He says the overhaul will take billions of dollars and require hundreds of thousands of electricians.
Nathaniel Gutierrez, with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, says Colorado already has a shortage of journeymen.
"Currently we're sitting at approximately 850 linemen within the state with a couple hundred travelers to come in and help us," Gutierrez said.
Upgrading the grid, he says, will require double the number of electricians, which is why the bill includes $800,000 to fund apprenticeships for linemen.
"You're looking at upgrading transformers, upgrading the wire size that feeds these systems, so it's just not putting a new transformer up there that's sufficient, it is an entire overhaul and a reconductoring of our systems," said Gutierrez.
Hansen says while the overhaul could raise electric bills in the short run, it will save money in the long run and ensure our electricity grid is reliable.
"I think this is a bill that will really put us in a leadership position, we're going to get ahead of the curve and I think demonstrate to, not only the rest of the country, but to the rest of the world how we can do this low-emission transition and do it in a way that's great for customers," Hansen said.
The bill requires utilities like Xcel Energy to submit plans for upgrading their distribution systems with the Public Utilities Commission.
It has received initial approval in the Senate.
