OPINION:
Colorado’s Eighth District has an energy advantage most states envy.
Weld County, in the northern part of my district, is the fourth-largest energy-producing county in the nation, producing 82% of Colorado’s oil and 56% of its natural gas. We are also home to major wind, solar and emerging technologies. We have the resources and workforce to produce more American energy than ever before.
Yet Denver Democrats are determined to squander that advantage.
For years, one-party rule at the State Capitol has pursued an energy agenda designed to force Colorado away from oil and natural gas — regardless of what it costs consumers or means for the reliability of our grid.
Now, state regulators are pushing that agenda even further.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ordered utilities to pursue a 41% reduction in emissions from natural gas by 2035.
Let’s be clear about what costs Colorado families bear when state policies restrict access to natural gas.
A 2024 report from the Colorado Energy Office found that these decarbonization mandates mean the state is pursuing the most expensive energy mix possible costing more than $108 billion total, or $6,400-$9,200 per household.
This not only results in higher costs for the nearly 1.9 million households, businesses, farmers and manufacturers who rely on natural gas for affordable and reliable energy; it also diverts valuable resources away from infrastructure-hardening measures.
At a time when Coloradans are concerned about housing affordability and increased home insurance rates, mandates to fully electrify a new home in colder climates can add more than $15,000 to construction costs.
Colorado families don’t need another government mandate making life even more expensive. Our state already ranks as the sixth-most regulated in the country, with more than 205,000 state-level regulatory restrictions.
The same companies that have brought thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to our state over many decades are now being forced to leave thanks to the overregulation by Denver Democrats.
If electric appliances work best for your family, choose them. If natural gas makes more sense, you should have the freedom to choose that, too.
That decision belongs to Coloradans — not the government.
That’s why I’ve made affordability, reliability and energy choice central to my work in Congress.
My State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act passed the House and requires state utility regulators to consider whether utilities have enough reliable generation to meet electricity needs over a 10-year planning period.
That should be common sense.
I’m also a proud cosponsor of the Energy Choice Act to stop state and local governments from restricting access to an energy source simply because they don’t like where that energy comes from.
But protecting the energy we already have isn’t enough. America needs to build.
Right now, too many energy and infrastructure projects get buried in years of federal red tape, delays and political uncertainty. That drives up costs and makes it harder to produce the energy our families and communities rely on.
That’s why I helped lead the bipartisan CERTAIN Act to overhaul our broken federal permitting process and get American energy projects built. It establishes clearer timelines and accountability for federal reviews, improves coordination between agencies and provides greater certainty for lawfully issued permits.
Whether it’s natural gas, oil, wind, solar, nuclear, transmission or other critical infrastructure, projects shouldn’t spend years trapped in government bureaucracy.
We need to produce more energy. We need to build the infrastructure to move it. And we need a reliable grid capable of delivering it.
That’s what an all-of-the-above energy strategy actually looks like.
Denver Democrats have taken the opposite approach: regulate more, mandate more and leave Coloradans with fewer choices.
Some claim to be dedicated to an all-of-the-above approach, but then support policies to exclude natural gas — an important baseload power resource to ensure grid reliability.
Colorado has everything we need to lead America’s energy future. We shouldn’t be importing energy we can produce here, increasing utility bills for families, making housing more expensive or regulating reliable resources out of existence.
Colorado families deserve affordable, reliable energy.
And they must retain the freedom to choose it.
• Rep. Gabe Evans is a proud Colorado native who has spent his life serving his state and nation through the military and law enforcement.
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