given the need to move toward a clean-energy portfolio and consider environmental justice. “Those are all great ideas,” Binz says. “I fully support them, and it was not in the origi- nal mandate of the consumer advocate’s offi ce. ... I think it’s going to be a lot easier to make smart decisions at that level that simultane- ously protect consumers on the fi nancial side, but also recognize that you can’t be a stick- in-the-mud on these environmental issues.” The PUC once operated under a mandate to ensure that energy companies would bring the least cost to customers, Caldara says, but the recent changes “took away that least-cost mandate, and instead put in some fl uffy thing more under the guise of sustainability. He says he saw the same dynamic when he was on the RTD board in the 1990s when “Birken- stock-wearing social engineers” wanted to tell people how to live, and “necktie-wearing professionals” saw a chance to make money off those initiatives, including RTD’s Fas- tracks, which Caldara opposed. “Now we see under the guise of helping the climate...you’re helping the owners of Xcel and other monopolies,” he says. “It’s ugly. It’s corrupt. The word is corrupt.” That’s not a word you see on an Xcel bill, where every charge is explained — but the explanation often comes in the form of an acronym that can be looked up on Xcel’s billing payment glossary included on the How to Read Your Bill page on the company’s website. For the over 300,000 Xcel customers who re- cently switched to smart meters and time of use rates — which all Colorado cus- tomers will do by 2025 — information about how to read the new bills can be found on the Smart Meter Installation page under the How it Affects You section. People may have to click through several links to fi nd the right information, however, and the website doesn’t have a search bar. Caldara says he hopes his ballot measure will not only make costs clearer, but will reduce them. Any company making a Ron Binz was Colorado’s fi rst consumer counsel. about environmentalism and quality of life and unmeasurable stuff.” Adding environmental justice and energy transition to the equation cleared the way to impose higher costs on customers, Caldara adds, suggesting that as Xcel builds new, green infrastructure, it increasingly asks the PUC to let it recuperate those costs through customers’ bills. Caldara uses the Comanche Power Plant as an example. Opened in 2010, the coal plant in Pueblo cost over a billion dollars to construct and was intended to run until 2070. Customers helped pay for the original construction. Now Xcel is going to close the plant early in pursuit of its goal of stopping the use of coal by 2035 as part of an $8 bil- lion proposal that included new renewable generation projects. Caldara sees a future where customers take on that cost, incur- ring even higher bills when the Comanche plant could still operate for many more years. He believes Xcel is in cahoots with the green energy movement to charge customers guaranteed profi t should have more accountability, he argues. He also sees this as a non-political issue that will cross party lines. “Should I vote for it, or should I not?” he asks on behalf of consumers. “Take a look at your en- ergy bill and tell me if that’s going up as fast as your paycheck. I cannot imagine how this doesn’t pass. I think there are more captive ratepayers — hostage customers — than owners of Xcel voting.” Xcel has not taken a position on the pro- posal. “We’re aware of this issue and con- tinue to monitor it,” says Michelle Aguayo, Xcel spokesperson. “There are still a lot of steps that have to take place, and therefore it is too early to comment.” But Caldara thinks the time to comment could be soon. The language of the proposal has been fi nalized, and he expects a title board hearing for the measure this week. He assumes Xcel will appeal, and then there will be another title board hearing before the measure offi cially makes the ballot. “We ought to remove the gold dome from the Capitol and replace it with a big Xcel Energy sign,” Caldara concludes. “And un- derneath it say, ‘Why rent when you can buy?’ — because they own this system, they love it.” Email the author at catie.cheshire@ westword.com. Saturday, June 4 4-7 p.m. Civic Center Park UNLIMITED TACO SAMPLES FROM DENVER’S BEST TAQUERIAS + DRINK SAMPLES! WESTWORDTACOLANDIA.COM General Admission 4-7 p.m. UNLIMITED TACO SAMPLES DRINK SAMPLES AND FULL DRINKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE SCAN HERE FOR TICKETS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HISPANIC RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION FEED ME EVENTS 9 westword.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | WESTWORD APRIL 21-27, 2022 RBINZ.COM
