Colorado regulators on Monday updated the state’s targets for a first-in-the-nation “clean heat” plan, rebuffing a request from the governor’s office for a less aggressive target.
Under the decision from the state Public Utilities Commission, gas utilities will be required to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent of 2015 levels by 2035. That target builds on the existing goal to reduce emissions 22 percent by 2030.
The clean heat target — first established by state lawmakers in 2021 — requires gas utilities to reduce emissions either by using cleaner-burning fuels or by incentivizing customers to switch to electric heat pumps and other appliances. The program is seen as a national leader in reducing emissions from the hard-to-reach building sector.
The 2035 target comes in higher than one recommended by utilities and even the office of Democratic Gov. Jared Polis. State agencies filed comments encouraging the PUC to set an “ambitious but achievable” target of a 31 percent reduction by 2035.
