The Colorado Public Utilities Commission took public comment July 8, 2025, on a tariff filing by Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) seeking approval of an on-bill financing program to cover upfront customer costs for electrification and energy-efficiency upgrades, proceeding 25A-0036E. Commissioner Tom Plant presided as the hearing commissioner and said an evidentiary hearing is scheduled July 10–11 and a written decision will be issued later in the fall.

Megan Castle, communications director, summarized Xcel’s filing: the company submitted the tariff Jan. 6, 2025, and seeks commission approval of a program that would use third-party capital to finance upgrades with repayment reflected on the customer’s electric bill. "The proposed financing program will use funding from a third party to finance the upfront customer cost of making beneficial electrification and energy efficiency upgrades with the repayment of the third party debt reflected on the customer's electric bill," Castle said. She said Xcel has selected the Collective Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) to provide third-party financing and is negotiating agreements. Castle also stated the company proposes to make available up to $50,000 of financing per participating customer at an electric-metered premise, with repayment options of three, five and 10 years, and that gas-only customers would be excluded from the program.

Speakers at the public comment hearing praised the concept but urged changes to improve equity and access. Tricia Canonico, Fort Collins city council member and vice president of Colorado Communities for Climate Action, said, "On bill financing is a key strategy needed to address urgent climate pollution reduction goals while reducing costs for Colorado's residents." Canonico praised Xcel’s proposal to use billing history rather than credit checks and opposed a "pay as you save" approach, but she also urged the program not to exclude the utility’s approximately 400,000 gas-only customers and said interest rates of 5%–6% in the current proposal are "too high to be accessible to more customers." Canonico asked that the maximum finance amount be lowered from $75,000 to no more than $50,000 to spread capital more widely and that individually metered multifamily units be allowed to participate.

Commenters from the private sector supported the program as a tool to overcome upfront cost barriers for heat-pump adoption. Dr. Richardson, a founder of Elephant Energy, said his company has installed about 1,300 heat pumps and that customers often face "$10,000 or more of upfront costs" even after rebates. He said on-bill financing could let moderate- and low-income households access electrification without securing private loans. Another Elephant Energy employee, Duran Guinness, cited examples discussed in a clean‑energy class and said utilities and co-ops using on-bill repayment had been a "single game-changer" for middle- and low-income families.

No formal commission vote or decision took place during the public comment hearing. Commissioner Plant reiterated that he will draft a decision after the evidentiary hearing and that any proposed decision would be adopted, modified or rejected by the full three‑member commission. Written comments may be filed in the docket and will be given equal weight with oral remarks.

The hearing saw limited public turnout beyond the scheduled commenters; the session included multiple breaks while the commission awaited additional speakers. The evidentiary hearing on the tariff is scheduled for July 10–11; the commission expects to issue a written decision in the fall.