Colorado PUC commissioners agree to investigate residential electric shutoffs
The staff-led inquiry will examine shutoffs among income-qualified customers and disproportionately affected communities, including how long they last and how many customers are never reconnected.
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Colorado Public Utilities Commission commissioners agreed Nov. 4 to direct staff to investigate residential electric disconnections, focusing on customers who qualify for income-based assistance and communities disproportionately affected by shutoffs, at their weekly meeting.
Staff said the inquiry could examine how many customers are disconnected in disproportionately affected or predominantly minority communities, how long shutoffs last and how many customers are never reconnected. Where feasible, staff could also examine what happens to customers afterward. The inquiry will look at whether utility-supported bill assistance reaches communities experiencing the most disconnections and how affected customers can be better represented in commission proceedings.
Commission staff will set the investigation’s details and data requests and keep commissioners informed. No completion date was stated.
Separately, staff said an earlier commission decision in Public Service Company of Colorado’s electric-rate case requires the utility to file by June 30, 2027, either an implementation plan for a pilot informed by the investigation or a plan that would allow the commission to reassess bill-assistance and disconnection practices. That filing requirement comes from the earlier decision; it is distinct from the newly agreed investigation.