GriftoPolis’s Green Mandate Mirage: Sacrificing Jobs and Reliability for a Fraction of a Degree

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Coloradans, let’s cut through the fog of feel-good policies and face the harsh reality of our state’s energy “transition.” We’re being sold a bill of goods on decarbonization, where the costs pile up on families and communities while the benefits are so minuscule they’re practically imaginary. 

Take HB26-1081, the so-called “Colorado Grid Optimization Act.” It sounds innocuous—optimizing transmission with fancy tech to squeeze more out of our existing lines. But dig deeper, and it’s just another layer of mandates that funnels your hard-earned money into utility coffers and Wall Street pockets, all under the guise of climate heroism.

Xcel Energy, our investor-owned behemoth, loves this stuff. Why? Because under traditional cost-of-service regulation, they invest in new infrastructure—wires, upgrades, you name it—and ratepayers like you cover the depreciation, operations, and a juicy 9-10 percent return on equity. 

It’s a guaranteed payday. Their big shareholders—BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street—hold the reins, pushing ESG agendas that align perfectly with Governor Polis’s rush to “net zero.” 

We’ve seen billions poured into transmission projects like the $2 billion Power Pathway, stretching lines across our skylines to haul power from remote wind farms. Centralized, fragile, and vulnerable to the next storm or wildfire. But hey, as long as the rate base grows, the investors win—even if it means higher bills and a grid that’s one big point of failure.

And where’s the accountability? When I asked the CDPHE for the cost-benefit analysis—because the 2019 bill, HB19-1261, explicitly required carbon mitigation efforts to be cost-effective—I was met with stunned silence. 

CDPHE has never done a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis because they have NetZero concern about being cost-effective. 

So while just the recent costs include the jobs of a couple hundred miners and the towns that depend on them—like the 133 laid off at Colowyo Mine in Moffat County, with ripple effects hitting 437 total jobs and slashing local tax revenues by 43 percent—the benefit at the absolute maximal possibility of “consensus science” is (100 percent)(3C)(0.1/3300) = 0.001°C. And for that tiny, immeasurable blip in global temperatures, Jared Polis is okay with you sitting in the dark, unproductive, unheated, and unfed. 

Colorado’s emissions are just 0.2 percent of the world’s total—118 million metric tons out of 40,000 million globally—so even if we shut everything down tomorrow, it wouldn’t move the needle on climate.

Don’t get me wrong: Clean air and reliable energy matter. But these policies aren’t about that.

They’re about virtue-signaling at your expense. HB19-1261 promised cost-effectiveness, defining it as the cost per unit of reduced emissions, and required the Air Quality Control Commission to consider benefits, costs, and equity. Yet, critiques abound that full analyses are lacking in roadmaps and rushed rulemakings, with costs estimated at $18.3 billion in lost GDP over 15 years while we’re on track to miss our 2025 target anyway. 

Meanwhile, those same investors are getting sued by over a dozen states for antitrust shenanigans—using their holdings to collude on coal cutbacks under ESG banners, jacking up prices everywhere.

HB26-1081 is yet another extraction of your blood, sweat, and tears to bolster the profits of the green grift. 

It mandates utilities to evaluate advanced tech in their plans, adding bureaucratic bloat without guaranteeing real resilience. 

Instead of propping up this centralized mess, let’s push for true alternatives: Redundant, decentralized generation like microgrids, natural gas backups, and even nuclear for baseload reliability. 

Bills like HB26-1246 show a path forward, letting private entities build dedicated power without PUC overreach.

I encourage every Coloradan reading this to get informed and get involved. 

Read the full text of HB26-1081 and HB26-1246 yourself on the Colorado General Assembly website. 

Understand what’s really at stake for your wallet, your job security, and our grid’s future. 

Then, sign up to testify at the upcoming House Energy & Environment Committee hearing. 

Your voice matters—especially when the PUC and big utilities are moving fast. Head to the official public testimony sign-up page right now: https://sites.coleg.gov/public-testimony/sign-up-to-testify/step-1. 

Sign up, show up, speak up—demand policies that put Colorado families first.

It’s time to demand better. No more subsidizing Wall Street’s schemes with your utility bills. 

Prioritize affordability, jobs, and a grid that doesn’t buckle under GriftoPolis’s pie-in-the-sky goals. Colorado families deserve energy policies that work for us—not against us.

The beatings will continue until engagement improves. Win your precinct. 

Rep. Ken DeGraaf represents House District 22 in northeast Colorado Springs and has served in the Colorado House since 2023. He’s a 27-year U.S. Air Force veteran and pilot, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and holds a master’s in structural dynamics from Columbia University.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.