Colorado PUC retains disputed transmission model, orders prompt resource RFP
The commission approved an independent evaluator for Public Service’s 2026 generation-and-storage solicitation, which includes community solar, and ordered revisions before the final request for proposals.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission retained Public Service Company of Colorado’s disputed Option B transmission model and ordered the utility to issue a final request for proposals for its 2026 electric-resource solicitation as quickly as reasonably possible.
The commission also approved Axion Group LLC as an independent evaluator for Phase Two bids, modeling runs and the selection process, at an estimated cost of just under $800,000, the commission’s Aug. 19 meeting record shows. The record does not provide a more precise approved amount.
The action updates docket 24A-0442E, the Just Transition Solicitation proceeding in which the commission had directed Public Service to defer a community-solar RFP while parties disputed transmission-credit calculations. The 2026 solicitation is intended to procure additional generation and storage resources; the record does not identify a project count, selected bidders or a final portfolio.
The commission rejected the Coalition for Community Solar Access’ request to remove Option B. Public Service may use the revised values and portfolio-level modeling approach in the final RFP. The approach is intended to account for network upgrades and expansion when comparing portfolios, affecting how bids are evaluated by location and resource type. It does not approve a project or determine which resources will be built.
The commission separately directed Public Service to remove unauthorized milestone-payment requirements from the final RFP, bid forms and bidder presentations. The commission had previously required parties to be notified and given an opportunity to respond before approved credits were changed.
The commission also approved a confidential channel for bidders to anonymously report their experiences negotiating with Public Service. The channel will cover the 2026 solicitation, 2021 ERP-CEP projects and near-term procurement negotiations. Axion has two weeks to file a draft survey, followed by a two-week period for parties to respond. The record does not show that the channel was already operating or that the survey process had been completed.
Public Service had planned to issue the RFP Aug. 12 under its proposed methodology, but the commission told the utility to wait “until further order of the Commission,” according to the Aug. 12 meeting record. The Aug. 19 action does not set a release date, and the record does not show that the final RFP had been issued.
The underlying dispute concerns how to estimate transmission-system costs and benefits for different energy and storage projects. The commission’s Phase One decision describes the earlier framework. Public Service proposed a $191-per-kilowatt credit for bids interconnecting within or west of the Denver Metro Constraint, while CCSA argued for a credit of about $210 per kilowatt and a broader, stackable systemwide credit.
The methodology could affect the modeled competitiveness of bids based on project location and technology. The available record does not establish specific effects on project counts, customer rates or customer access. Community solar can give customers who cannot install rooftop systems, including renters and apartment residents, access to bill credits from shared solar projects, Energy Outreach Colorado says.