PUC hearing examines Black Hills clean‑heat settlement, renewable natural gas and electrification study

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission heard testimony Oct. 27 on Black Hills Colorado Gas’s application for its clean‑heat plan. The company and most settling parties presented a revised settlement that trims the program timeline, preserves energy‑efficiency spending and adds three new elements: a $300,000 stakeholder‑led electrification study, a pilot in the Rocky Ford area coordinated with Black Hills Colorado Electric, and authority to pursue renewable natural gas (RNG) purchases beginning in 2027 with a $700,000 budget.

Why it matters: The hearing probed whether the settlement’s balance of demand‑side measures, limited RNG purchases and further study offers a reasonable path to meet Colorado’s clean‑heat obligations without improper cost shifting. Commissioners and intervenors pressed the company on whether recovered‑methane limits in state guidance constrain RNG eligibility, how the plan’s costs and emissions were modeled, and whether beneficial electrification programs would unfairly shift fixed gas‑system costs to nonparticipating customers.

What the company told the PUC: Black Hills regulatory director Michael Harrington summarized the second settlement and asked the commission to approve it “without modification.” Harrington said the settlement shortens the plan (effectively removing program year 2025 because of hearing delays), preserves core DSM measures (focused on weatherization and envelope work), and adds an electrification study intended to reconcile divergent modeling assumptions among the…