Category: Energy
Woke Colorado Dems target natural gas: 70% of homes face skyrocketing bills for unreliable electric heat
Colorado is the eighth-largest natural gas-producing state in the U.S., boasting 10 underground natural gas storage fields with approximately 141 billion cubic feet of combined storage capacity. Roughly seven out of 10 Colorado households use natural gas as their primary home heating source.
Despite the Centennial State’s bounty of natural gas and the super-majority of Colorado households’ reliance on the affordable warmth it provides, officials are pushing for an electrification of heating in the state and putting utilities in a position where they’ll soon have to begin removing customers en masse.
‘You’re increasing the load on electrification without there being any way to fill it.’
State Democrats successfully passed legislation in 2021 aimed at reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions through regulatory changes affecting gas distribution utilities.
To satisfy this law, the commissioners on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission — all of whom were appointed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis — have solicited and approved multiple “clean heat” plans.
Earlier this month, the PUC set GHG emission reduction targets impacting three investor-owned gas utilities — Atmos Energy, Black Hills Energy, and Xcel Energy — requiring them to cut the carbon emissions from their systems by 4% this year; by 22% over the next five years; and by 41% over the next 10 years.
While the commissioners declined to set targets beyond 2035, they noted in their formal decision that “because Colorado has a statewide goal of reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 100% by 2050, as compared to a 2005 baseline, we emphasize that clean heat plans submitted by gas utilities must account for that statutorily established future target.”
RELATED: 5 truths the climate cult can’t bury any more
Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Image
Colorado Energy Office director Will Toor is among those who have expressed skepticism about the aggressive nature of the switchover from natural gas to the state’s already strained electric grid, a system that Xcel Energy indicated will likely face skyrocketing demand in the form of 400,000 electric vehicles and 300,000 new heat pumps by 2029.
“The 41% target, from our perspective, is a pretty challenging target for utilities,” Toor told the Colorado Sun. “We certainly hope that utilities get there. I think we thought that 30% was probably more realistic.”
The Colorado Energy Office and the state health department’s Air Pollution Control Division reportedly asked for a 30% target by 2035.
In order to meet the new targets, the PUC noted that “utilities can propose to meet the clean heat targets using combinations of energy efficiency, electrification, recovered methane, green hydrogen, thermal energy, and pyrolysis of tires.”
Alternatively “customers may voluntarily participate in these plans by taking advantage of rebates and incentives to adopt electric heat pumps or complete energy efficiency upgrades in their homes and businesses,” said the PUC.
Before incentives, customers looking to satisfy climate alarmists by electrifying their gas appliances and homes are looking at costs in excess of $20,000 per home, Xcel noted in testimony about the state’s so-called clean heat plans.
Jake Fogleman, director of policy at the Independence Institute, a Colorado-based think tank, noted that the targets “will necessarily require removing customers from the system.”
“Utilities like Xcel, Black Hills, and Atmos may be able to nibble around the edges of the target by relying on recovered methane, improved pipeline leak detection and repair, and other non-demand-destroying strategies, but such approaches will not be enough to comply with state law,” wrote Fogleman. “This all but guarantees that gas customers around the state will soon face higher utility bills to subsidize households into switching from gas to electric heating and appliances.”
Those who can afford to make the switch will likely still be looking at jacked prices. Fogleman noted that last year, “Electricity was more than four times more expensive on average per unit of energy delivered to Colorado households” than natural gas.
Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, told the Denver Post, “They’re trying to regulate us away from any fossil fuels and taking away our appliances and our heaters. You’re increasing the load on electrification without there being any way to fill it.”
Republican state Rep. Ty Winter told the Post that when constituents raise concerns about the climate alarmist requirements, he tells them that “the only way to fix this is at the ballot box.”
“We’re going to fight this tooth and nail, and we’re going to use every avenue we have,” said Winter.
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Taxpayer-Funded ‘Pipeline Safety’ Group Works To Thwart Trump’s Pipeline Policies
The Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) claims its focus is on “ensuring the integrity” of America’s oil and gas pipelines. But the Washington-based nonprofit—which has received $5 million in taxpayer funding for pipeline safety work since 2021—largely operates as a left-wing climate advocacy organization, endorsing Democratic legislation while siding against President Donald Trump on pipeline development and fighting many of his other energy priorities, a Washington Free Beacon review found.
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5 truths the climate cult can’t bury any more
“Peak oil” isn’t real. “Energy transition” isn’t happening. And the people claiming otherwise can’t even tell you the difference between a man and a woman.
Everything, everywhere, has become upside down. Wind on, wind off. Coal out, coal in. Up is down. Down is up. And the loudest activists insist we are seconds away from climate Armageddon unless we obey their every whim.
But whether anyone wakes up or not, the reality is the same: Fossil fuels will lead the energy future because no alternative can meet human need.
A political scientist calls this polarization. A driller and fracker like me would call it something else: BS.
Energy isn’t political. The world runs on it. And whether the professional hand-wringers like it or not, the world still needs us. So let me spill the beans.
Truth No. 1: The world needs more oil, and only we can deliver it
Under Joe Biden’s administration, oil and gas became the national punching bag. The Inflation Reduction Act jacked up federal royalties by a third. Banks and hedge funds blacklisted producers. Universities, churches, and even the pope lectured the industry.
Meanwhile, Ivy League dilettantes wrote policies so dumb they managed to create debt without decreasing emissions or improving the environment.
The same people who shriek “climate denialist” invented their own version of denial — blind faith in renewables and a refusal to acknowledge battery production’s ugly realities: strip mining, deforestation, acid rain, toxic sludge, heavy metals. All the things they accuse us of, they are doing at scale.
The irony is unbearable. And the truth they hate is simple: Without oil and gas, there wouldn’t be a tree or whale left alive.
Natural gas displaced coal and drove down atmospheric carbon dioxide. High-rate fracking kept lights on, raised life spans, and offered Sub-Saharan Africa its only shot at prosperity.
But the sniveling green fussbudgets? They don’t care about prosperity. They care about performance art. How exactly do they think humanity survives without fossil fuels? How do they think poor families can afford electricity under California-style economics and the onslaught of artificial intelligence?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told us the world ends in 2030. We’re halfway there. But Bill Gates now says we’re cool. So which is it?
Truth No. 2: Even ‘clean’ energy pollutes
I know fossil fuels pollute. So does every other energy source. Prospecting, drilling, producing, transporting, refining — yes, there is impact. That is Big Oil’s dirty truth.
But Big Shovel’s “clean energy” comes with its own filth: strip mines, solar dead zones, toxic smelting, and oceans of waste. Those industries just hide it better, with political cover from bought politicians and media stenographers who won’t touch the cons.
Humans need energy. Energy creates pollution. So the question isn’t whether we pollute.It’s how we keep 10.3 billion people alive in the next 50 years.
And right now? Renewables are a rich man’s game.
Africa proves it. Over 20% face hunger every day. Cheap, abundant energy could fix it. But activists want to force the people into windmills and solar panels whose components are dug out of slave-run mines.
Look at our southern border. Millions are pouring north not for “equity,” but because America has the best quality of life on Earth — which exists because we consume more energy than anyone.
Energy means survival, prosperity, and dignity for billions of people.
Truth No. 3: The haters suddenly need us again
Oil producers aren’t hated as much now — we’re just disliked. I’ll take it.
Even Silicon Valley is crawling back. Its AI data centers run on natural gas. Funny how the moral sermons stop the moment the servers start overheating.
Remember Engine No. 1, the ESG crusaders who infiltrated Exxon’s board to “transition” it? Four years later, they’re trying to take over Chevron … to buy natural gas.
Money talks. Ideology walks.
Truth No. 4: Oil is hurting, but opportunity is coming
Prices are descending. Layoffs are beginning. At $60 oil, we’re stuck in neutral. At $50, we hit reverse. And if we go down, so does steel — each horizontal well uses five miles of it.
But downturns create opportunities. Out-of-favor assets become bargains. And I’m betting on growth now, not later.
Because within a year, oil may flip into contango — where future prices rise above today’s. Why? No spare capacity, underinvestment, poor exploration results, the coming twilight of U.S. shale, and low reserves will finally move prices up.
Even with short-term builds of 2 to 4 million barrels per day, prices are holding. In real demand destruction, we’d be in the 40s. We’re not. Because the world still needs more oil.
RELATED: Bill Gates quietly retires climate terror as AI takes the throne
bymuratdeniz via iStock/Getty Images
China’s demand is climbing. India’s demand is just beginning. U.S. consumption is higher this year than in recent years. Europe is crawling back to coal, oil, and gas.
OPEC and the International Energy Agency — some of the greenest bureaucrats alive — both agree: The world will need 123 million barrels a day within 20 years. That’s up from around 105 million barrels today.
And don’t forget: Oil declines 5% per year if not replenished. You need over 5 million barrels per day just to stay even.
Truth No. 5: Reality always wins
In a world with rising demand and shrinking supply, something’s got to give. Maybe the ideologues will finally admit we need every energy source. Maybe the public will tire of being lectured by activists gluing themselves to asphalt. Maybe logic returns.
Maybe — just maybe — we stop treating oil like a villain and start treating it like civilization’s backbone.
But whether anyone wakes up or not, the reality is the same: Fossil fuels will lead the energy future because no alternative can meet human need.
You can deny reality. But reality won’t deny you.
Left-Wing Dark Money Giant Funds Dem Lawsuits Against Oil Companies—and Trainings for Judges on How To Handle Those Cases
The New Venture Fund (NVF), a behemoth left-wing dark money charity, wired $2.3 million last year to the law firm that dozens of Democratic prosecutors have contracted to spearhead high-stakes climate litigation against oil companies, according to its latest tax filings. At the same time, it bankrolled a group that advises judges on how to handle those cases.
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House Republicans Strike Back Against Crippling Biden-Era Energy Schemes
‘climate alarmists and activist bureaucrats’
Deep-Pocketed Rockefeller Fund Behind California AG’s Lawsuit Against ExxonMobil, Official Says
The Rockefeller Family Fund (RFF), a progressive foundation that funds green energy initiatives and seeks to dismantle the oil industry, quietly helped lay the groundwork for California attorney general Rob Bonta’s (D.) high-stakes litigation accusing ExxonMobil of deceiving the public about its role in the “global plastics pollution crisis.”
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