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May 16, 2013 07:58 AM UTC

Will Hickenlooper Sign Senate Bill 252?

  • 22 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

It's one of the last remaining questions from this year's legislative session, reports FOX 31's Eli Stokols:

On Tuesday, Hickenlooper met with both Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer that has several facilities in Colorado and supports the measure, and with Tri-States Generation and Transmission, which provides electricity to 18 state energy co-ops and has been the bill’s most outspoken opponent.

After those meetings, Hickenlooper’s Chief Strategist Alan Salazar told FOX31 Denver that the governor is “still gathering information.”

…S.B. 252 would require rural co-ops with more than 100,000 meters, and utilities that generate and supply electricity on behalf of member co-ops, to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The Longmont Times-Call reports from last night's anti-252 rally in Johnson's Corner:

A rally at a windy parking lot behind the landmark Johnson's Corner Café and Truck Stop in Johnstown late Wednesday drew about 40 local residents and a half dozen lawmakers who fought against the bill.

Members of the General Assembly from Larimer and Weld counties, all of them on the short ends of votes that sent the measure to the governor's desk, took turns at a microphone on a flatbed trailer to fire up the small crowd, telling them their messages needed to reach the governor.

The Durango Herald's Joe Hanel:

The company that supplies coal-powered electricity to rural Colorado is waging a media campaign to try to convince Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto a renewable-energy bill.

It’s the biggest political advertising blitz since last fall’s election, and it included a full-page ad and half-page ad Sunday in The Durango Herald…

In one of the most controversial claims in the ads in the Herald, Tri-State says complying with the bill will cost billions of dollars.

“Senate Bill 252 would impose billions [Pols emphasis] in increased electricity costs on rural Colorado consumers and individuals,” the ad says.

What does this even mean?
What does this even mean?

Like so many other issues this legislative session, the rhetoric over Senate Bill 252 has escalated to an over-the-top fever pitch, to the point where opponents seem to be relying on arguments that aren't intended to persuade Gov. John Hickenlooper, or for that matter any rational person–it seems more to fire up the conservative base with even more hyperbolic nonsense stories of impending doom wrought by Democrats this year.

Some might interpret a shift to the irrational from opponents as evidence that Hickenlooper isn't buying it.

Gov. Hickenlooper has been widely criticized, even in the context of a session where liberal Democrats were made very happy, for his deliberate work to undo numerous oil and gas reform bills this year. Signing Senate Bill 252, what is in fact a moderate increase in the renewable mix for large rural co-op utilities, won't invalidate the criticism that Hickenlooper has richly earned on this issue–but it would give him something affirmative to point to in response to it. From a purely political perspective, it would seem rather pointless for Hickenlooper to bow to a minority of hysterical voices and veto SB-252. Critics of SB-252 aren't going to support Hickenlooper no matter what he decides, so there's no political gain from again poking environmental groups in the eye.

Many sources have told us that Hickenlooper has been personally stung by the criticism he has received from his positions on fracking. We think this is a chance he should, and probably will take to walk some of that back.

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22 thoughts on “Will Hickenlooper Sign Senate Bill 252?”

  2. In 2004 we heard the same hysteria from the same crowd.  Remember the 'No on 37' Campaign'?  Scaring their rural electric ratepayers into voting no by their now-infamous tag line, "it could cost you $2 billion".  Recycled talking points and a great way to gin up the base.  But the reality of the situation tells a very different story.

    Since 2004, Tri-State Generation and Transmission wasted $10's of millions of ratepayer dollars attempting to build a large coal plant in Holcomb, KS. They were repeatedly unsuccessful in winning both the political argument [unable to legally overcome two Sebilius vetos] and ultimatley their financial argument.  The federal governement will no longer make loans on coal plants under their tax-payer-subsidized Rural Utilities Service programs.  Nearly every private financial firm soon followed course.

    In September of 2012 Secretary of Tom Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a $140 million loan package to Tri-State that included $18 million for smart grid improvements, construction of a transmission line, substation upgrades and environmental improvements. 

    This was announced as part of Secretary Vilsacks inititiative to encourage G&T's and Rural Electrics to upgrade their infrastructure so that it can accommodate aggressive renewable energy deployment, reduce the need for new power plants and "provide a foundation for innovation by entrepreneurs."

    I'm going to speculate that if any enterprising journalist or intern would FOIA that loan application request they would likely find a robust narrative in agreement with meeting the Secretary's goals.  I'm going to further speculate that they represented that loan approval would not only help them meet those goals, but this infrastructure improvement would facilitate the stabilization of their members cost of power.

    Between the years of 1997 and 2012, the wholesale costs of power my REA pays to Tri-State have risen by 168%. [It was .0438 cents/kwH in '97 and had risen to .0737 cents/kwH by 2012] The bulk of that increase came between 2002-2007, a time when Tri-State had no significant renewable energy projects in their system and they were aggressively attempting to build a large coal plant in Kansas. 

    Today's greenfield wind projects are delivering wind in below 4 cents.  Tri-State's geographical territory is drowing in Class 5 wind resources in natural gas.  It's hard to miss the irony that wind energy today is being produced for a price less than my rural electric paid for energy from Tri-State in 1997.

    I have to hand it to Tri-State and their media campaign.  They have succeeded in convincing their members there is a war on rural Colorado.  It is such an unnecessary distraction from where we need to go.  In a conversation I had yesterday with a life-long friend she was lamenting about how if SB252 was signed it would signal the end to their small farm.  This is not an ignorant nor uneducated individual.  I asked her why she hasn't been equally as outraged over the fact she has suffered through an average 10% increase in the annuual wholesale costs we've experienced since 1997.  Crickets.

    Governor Hickenlooper, do the right thing.  Sign SB2525.  You will be acting on behalf of a broad silent majority in rural Colorado.

     

     

     

    1. Dude!  Mr Bowman – that is one excellent post.Gennerally I'm  the first to chide posters who are too facty and reasonable – cuz where's the fun in that.  And while you can't fit that on a bumper sticker* so it's poor campaign messaging – it is well said. thanks

       

       

      *They're lying again

    2. Yes, thanks. Looks like the war on rural Colorado is about as real as the war on Christmas, family values, hunting rifles, mom and apple pie yadaydayada.

        1. My sympathies, Michael, on your level of legislative representation…and my thanks also for an excellent post and your long record of work on such matters. 

    3. If any of you had half of a brain cell that was not influenced by the crap that is spewed forth from the people that will do nothing but profit from the " GREEN ENERGY" you would know that while yes, it would be better to have wind and solar power these should be done at the individual level not from some power company as the power produced from these sources is way to costly to transport these should be used at the home site only it is the only way to utilize this at a manner that is consistent with power efficiency as the loss that occurs trying to transport this power to the consumer. However if this was done at the home then the power generated could be used by the individual with little to no loss stop making the people that run this B/S rich when you can do this yourself this is where the so called "Government of the people for the people" ya what a laugh it is now Government of the corporation for the corporation. Tell me this is the Chinese Government using this NO it is using 2 cycle engines and toxin filled power plants to produce the energy needed to power their building economy. STOP Listening to the lies and WAKE UP AMERICA if you want to go green that is fine do it at home first stop draining the Government with these endless subsidies to companies that go bankrupt after taking money from the masses (that's right the tax money that you give the Government could be used to produce your own energy and never have to pay for power again. So set up your own solar panels and wind generators for your own use this is the real answer just think of the jobs that could be created as all of these small power plants would need to be serviced after going into use at the individual household.

  3. …40 local residents and a half dozen lawmakers …

     

    I can do better than that -if the Governor does not sign it, I'll round up 400 residents (all registered or about to be), and two dozen lawmakers who will support a plausible Green nominee for Governor in the   next cycle.

    And I'll offer to buy anyone's farm who can show that the reason they went under was SB 252.

    1. Here, here.

      So since Sine Die they have managed to drag 12 angry old white guys to the west steps of the capitol to decry this mythical war on rural Colorado – and then went all-out and managed to round up another mob of 40 individuals and six angry legislators in one of the most heavily populated rural areas in the state, Weld County.  If it wasn't so laughable it would be sad.  I do hope that if indeed it comes out that the narrative contained in their application to USDA conflicts with this idiot media campaign that there will be resignations from all who were responsible for this utter waste of ratepayer dollars.

      1. …went all-out and managed to round up another mob of 40 individuals and six angry legislators…

         

        Sure- it's gonna cost the ratepayers billions, and  you're gonna lose your farm  are going to get a few folks to show up.

         

        I recall another time and place, where one party was claiming a mythical war on the rural way of life and claimed that family farms were being lost to the estate tax.  We put together a team of estate planners- and offered any family farm free estate planning , and $1million guarantee they would not lose their farm to the estate tax.  Two farmers called us – they were in danger of losing their farms, but it had nothing to do with the estate tax, they were both carrying huge debts. in fact, because of their debts, their net assets were pretty close to zero – no estate tax issue there.

        1. This utter collapse in leadership by Tri-State is a sad indictment on the conversations they are encouraging amongst their rural consumers.  Our rural coops were borne from FDR's New Deal.  Without the support of the federal government and now nearly eight decades of US taxpayer-supported loan programs there would be no rural electric association. Private industry was never going to invest and risk in rural infrastructure.  We rural citizens owe a debt of gratitude for FDR's vision. 

          We are not an independent 'state-within-a-state'.  We are interdependent.  Not independent.  We don't get to opt out of state-wide policy decisions.  And yes, everyone gets a say in this – rural and urban alike.  It is in the best interests of the state to develop our natural resources and trap those energy dollars in our states economy.  It's in the best interest of the state to have an energy infrastructure that gives entrpreneurs access to that energy market.  And it's in the best interest of state and national energy security to diversity our fuel sources for energy.  I'm convinced the Governor understands this – and our leaders in the Colorado House and Senate clearly understood the issue.  Everyone else is just an incarnate of the buggy whip makers of Henry Fords day.

          1. and us rural folks could not make it without the urban folks. Urban is where we get our credit, our tech, our Broncos. Even our guns. Were it not for urban buyers of guns they would  be much more costly. Our trucks

  4. It's a bad bill that imposes urban wishes on rural Colorado. Rural lawmakers didn't support it for a reason.

    I hope Hickenlooper continues his track record of being sensible on energy and vetoes SB252.

    1. Unfortunately this Governor is nothing more than a Yes man to the Demoncrat machine so we need to vote him out of office along with a greater majority of the follow alongs (lemmings) that are currently in the so called offices of power. THESE PEOPLE NEED TO REMEMBER THEY WORK FOR THE PEOPLE WE DO NOT WORK FOR THEM.

      1. the so called offices of power

        If they are "so called" offices of power, then they aren't really powerful …right? So, what are you worried about?

         

    2. As a rural voter on co-op power, I can guarantee a majority of the county in which I live is in favor of SB-252.

      Unfortunately, the board of our co-op is largely conservative, and they spent many thousands of dollars after Amdt. 37 passed to ensure that the co-op residents were misled into voting to opt out of 37.

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