Methane Gas in Your Homes, What You Need You Know

Posted: January 11, 2024

Like many in Colorado, your home may be heated by a furnace that burns methane gas. It may also have a gas-burning stove in the kitchen. Or both. Whichever way you may be connected to gas, serious concerns exist: for you and your family’s health, for your wallet through soaring utility bills, and for the safety of your community due to pipelines and infrastructure that deliver gas across the state.

The environmental and economic problems associated with methane gas are a key reason that the Colorado Legislature passed a “Clean Heat” law in 2021 requiring gas distribution utilities like Xcel Energy to begin filing plans for how they will reduce methane-related emissions. The first of the gas utility Clean Heat Plans was filed by Xcel in August 2023 and is now being reviewed by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which regulates utilities that deliver gas and electricity.

Despite an opportunity to transition from dependence on gas and begin providing customers with safer, affordable heating alternatives, the plan filed by Xcel does not meet the required legal standard or provide the level of support to customers wanting to transition off gas that it could. And one of the main reasons is that decreasing our reliance on gas cuts into Xcel’s profits.

The PUC is accepting public comments right now as they prepare to make a decision on whether Xcel’s plan is in the state’s best interest, or whether they will require Xcel to do better.

GreenLatinos have assembled a team of experts for a virtual open house where you will be able to get up-to-date, accurate information on what this means for you and how you can help push the state to facilitate a change to better, safer energy sources than methane. INFO: Open House Q & A will be held on Friday, January 12, 9am, with experts on gas-related issues such as health, pollution, consumer impacts, economics, social justice, clean energy, and the law. Access: Webinar. No registration required: https://bit.ly/CO-Methane-QandA.