Colorado regulators have recommended some two dozen changes to improve the workings of the powerful Public Utilities Commission, including several amendments that could impact the operations of utilities and transportation-network companies like Uber and Lyft.
The recommendations come as part of the sunset review process in which the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies examines state boards and commissions set to expire and offers opinions on whether to re-up them, often with suggested changes. The PUC — which regulates utilities, motor carriers, transportation-network companies, railroads, telecommunications and certain natural-gas and propane pipelines — is recommended for renewal, though DORA believes its oversight should be changed in some ways.
Most of the recommendations regarding TNCs involve increased requirements for the ride-share companies to report on certain activities or to undertake additional steps to ensure passenger safety, echoing a debate the Legislature had earlier this year. In regard to utilities, DORA recommended several changes that could bring down costs for customers, sometimes to the detriment of investor-owned utilities’ bottom lines, but also some rollbacks in reporting requirements.
Ean Thomas Tafoya — vice president of state programs for GreenLatinos, which offered DORA feedback during its sunset-review process — said he believes the recommendations could lead to improvements. But he also said his organization and other environmental groups will seek more changes when legislators introduce a bill to continue the PUC’s existence next year, particularly regarding ways that the commission can add protections for low-income Coloradans.
“I think a lot of progress can be made,” Tafoya said in an interview Friday. “Overall, I think there’s some good recommendations. There’s kind of a mixed bag.”
Safety, reporting requirements for TNCs
Some of the biggest recommended changes may hit Uber, Lyft and other competitors in that space and follow a legislative effort that sought to require the companies to deactivate drivers targeted by rider complaints and to open them up to more potential lawsuits. Gov. Jared Polis vetoed the bill, saying some clauses were unworkable and threatened companies’ continued presence in the state, but he also ordered state officials to see how they could address some issues, and DORA appears to have responded to that urging.
One of the PUC’s safety-focused recommendations is to mandate the use of facial-recognition technology by TNC companies to deter driver impersonation. Another would require drivers for TNCs to offer contact information for the PUC in their cars, so that riders could know how to file complaints more easily.
DORA officials also want to boost public reporting for TNCs by mandating they submit all safety-related reports to the PUC and allow those reports to be accessed by the public, and by allowing the PUC to make publicly available any reports on drivers refusing riders. And officials recommended that the current maximum $550 fine for companies refusing service to potential riders be raised and that the burden of proof of violations in this area be shifted to TNCs, so state officials could more easily hold them accountable for actions.
“Thoughtful policies”
“These statutory changes would provide the PUC with the ability to more easily investigate and substantiate liability for refusal-of-service situations, widen the scope of the types of situations that are subject to potential penalties and increase the fine schedule for violations,” the PUC sunset recommendations read.
TNC officials from several companies said they are studying the proposed recommendations to understand their potential impact.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to develop thoughtful policies that protect people, respect privacy and maintain access to reliable rides,” Uber said in a statement to The Sum & Substance.
PUC utility rules could shift
DORA leaders made several recommendations regarding how the PUC regulates utilities. And just like with TNCs, utility leaders say they are sifting through them to understand the impact they could have.
One recommendation is to allow the PUC to direct investor-owned utilities like Xcel Energy and Black Hills to use securitization as an alternative means of financing infrastructure improvements. This method utilities issuing revenue bonds to fund upgrades rather than adding the cost of such work into rate bases. This can result in lower financing costs for the upgrades — a move that can limit base-rate increases but also limit the revenue that utilities can gain from such base-rate increases.
Several recommendations seek to reduce what DORA called “redundant” reporting for utilities in areas like compliance with state renewable-energy mandates, which is generally seen as a positive for businesses. And one recommendation is to eliminate the minimum $5,000 fine assessed to operators of natural-gas pipelines that violate pipeline-safety rules, with DORA officials arguing that the money can be better used on fixing problems.
“The $5,000 minimum civil penalty could be utilized for system improvements rather than paying the fine to the commission,” the sunset review reads. “For example, if there are deficiencies identified during an inspection, the master meter operator should have the opportunity to utilize their funds to make necessary repairs to ensure public safety rather than paying the required $5,000 civil penalty.”
Some suggestions could boost renewable energy
DORA suggested several changes that it believes could help the PUC to boost use of renewable energy and electrification of the transportation sector. It recommended the PUC study how small utilities can work together to procure renewable-energy systems at lower costs, and it suggested the PUC require utilities to offer third-party customer-facing programs in areas like electric-vehicle charging-equipment installation.
Finally, the report suggested procedural changes to PUC hearings, including that that the commission schedule proceedings so that they follow a logical cadence and order. And in a move that could be seen as beneficial to smaller utilities, it recommended that those utilities be allowed to appeal adverse local land-use decisions — largely those that could limit the construction of facilities or transmission lines — to the PUC.
Tom Henley, senior public affairs manager for Black Hills Energy, said officials at that company are looking thoroughly into the recommendations and waiting to see if all of them are going to end up in the legislation that is needed to make any such changes.
“We are aware of the PUC sunset report and have begun to review it,” Henley said in an email. “Many of the proposals will impact our utility. However, we are still reviewing the report and are waiting to see specific bill language that will be introduced next year.”
Big debate expected over PUC sunset bill
Tafoya said that environmental groups like some of the big-picture suggestions, such as consolidating and ordering some rulemakings, which could make it easier for advocacy groups to get involved in the process. But he expressed caution about some other ideas, including the elimination of minimum fines for gas-line-safety violations, saying that community health should be a priority for the commission.
“It’s concerning to do away with a penalty that’s meant to encourage people to do the right thing,” Tafoya said. “We still want to have a conversation with the PUC about why this is a better option for protecting communities.”
The bill to renew the PUC and make any changes is expected to be introduced sometime after the legislative session begins on Jan. 14. Given the wide-ranging nature of the bill and the ability for legislators to make a host of changes to the PUC through this legislation, it is likely to be one of the most debated proposals of the 2026 session.