We need a government that works
A bill currently being considered in the Colorado House exemplifies a deep concern I have with corporate influence on our government, and calls out public scrutiny. HB19-1037, the " Colorado Energy Impact Assistance Act" is ostensibly about the retirement of coal-fired power plants owned by public utilities in Colorado, and the economic impact this will have on the communities that are heavily dependent on employment related to them. As climate change barrels down upon us, anticipating the issues associated with closing such plants is certainly a legitimate concern. But this is not a good bill because it shunts all costs onto the customers and does not mention the role of the regulated utilities responsible for the construction of the plants. Those corporate utilities and their managers, Xcel in particular, should be made to bear their fair share of the responsibility for the construction of those plants and their unwitting impact of their environmental effects and how thei...