Senate Bill 17-271 Summary

• The Colorado Public Utilities Commission must open a nonadjudicatory proceeding within 180 days to evaluate investor-owned utilities' current service extension policies for new load applications, excluding gas-only utilities.

• The Commission shall consider utilities' load extension procedures including construction agreements, revenue assurance agreements, cost assignment methods, system automation benefits, equitable cost allocation, and construction timeline variables.

• The Commission must issue a decision with recommendations to investor-owned utilities for potential implementation based on its evaluation findings.

• The Commission may promulgate rules consistent with the nonadjudicatory proceeding findings within 90 days after the proceeding concludes.

• The act takes effect August 9, 2017, unless a referendum petition is filed, in which case it requires approval by voters at the November 2018 general election.