New Bill in Colorado Creates Task Force to Study Siting and Permitting for Electric Transmission Facilities

On the final day of the Colorado legislative session, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 11-045, a bill creating a task force to study the siting and permitting framework for electric transmission facilities in the state. The bill calls for a 17 member task force to be convened by the Director of the Commission or its designee and provide a report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than December 1, 2011. The bill directs the task force to address six concepts:

1. An inventory and evaluation of Colorado's current siting and permitting framework for electric transmission facilities;
2. Research into examples of how other states approach siting and permitting of electric transmission facilities;
3. Identify possible models for improving Colorado's existing siting and permitting processes as applied to electric transmission facilities;
4. Recommend actions to streamline siting and permitting processes applicable to electric transmission facilities, including balancing of environmental, land use and community effects with transmission project costs and schedule risks;
5. Examination of the advantages and disadvantages of a state-wide transmission siting and permitting framework for electric transmission facilities; and
6. An examination of the political acceptability of and potential strategies for, creating a state-level siting entity.

The task force will comprise the following ten stakeholders appointed by the Governor:

1. One member representing cooperative electric associations that distribute electricity;
2. One member representing cooperative electric associations that generate and transmit electricity;
3. Two members representing investor-owned electric utilities;
4. Two members representing municipally owned electric utilities;
5. One member representing renewable energy electric generation interests;
6. One member representing large commercial consumers of electricity; and
7. Two landowners representing agricultural interests who reside in different geographic areas of the state.

The bill also calls for appointment of the remaining six members: One member will be appointed by the Speaker of the House; one by the President of the Senate; two members will be appointed by the Executive Director of the Municipal league; and two members appointed by the Executive Director of Colorado Counties.
The bill is now before the Governor.