Colorado has mandated gas utilities to reduce air pollution by 41% by 2035, Canary Media reported. The action aims to cut harmful carbon pollution from homes and buildings while potentially setting a model for other states.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission set a new climate goal for investor-owned gas utilities, requiring them to cut pollution by 41% by 2035 from 2015 levels.
The mandate builds on the first-in-the-nation Clean Heat law passed in 2021. It required regulated gas utilities to reduce air pollution by 4% by 2025 and 22% by 2030, using 2015 levels as a baseline.
The 41% target aligns more closely with Colorado's long-term plans to cut pollution from buildings than the other proposals regulators considered. The commissioners had rejected both the utilities' request for a 22% to 30% cut and the state agencies' recommended 31% target.
The mandate could serve as a reference point for other states considering similar approaches to reducing pollution from buildings. Several states have already initiated comparable efforts, including Massachusetts' Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030, and Maryland's own Clean Heat rules.
This mandate can also encourage households and businesses to transition away from gas-powered options and toward cleaner alternatives. It shifts more responsibility to utilities, encouraging system-level changes rather than placing the burden solely on individual households.
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The policy could change how homes are powered and could lower energy costs while cleaning up indoor air. Installing a heat pump, for example, can help reduce costs. In many parts of the U.S., households could save more than $1,000 annually on heating bills, according to Consumer Reports.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shared that pollution from homes and businesses made up 31% of pollution in the U.S in 2022. By requiring gas utilities to cut pollution with a high target percentage, Colorado's mandate can significantly reduce pollution contributed by the use of gas in powering residential and commercial buildings.
While federal policymakers have eliminated or scaled back clean energy incentives, state programs and funding remain available for efficiency upgrades.
Environmental advocates praised the goal as a major step toward cutting building pollution. Jim Dennison, staff attorney at the Sierra Club, said that "it's a really huge deal." The Sierra Club is one of the environmental groups that advocated for the new target.
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Ed Carley, a building decarbonization policy expert at Western Resource Advocates, said that adopting the proposed targets "is really our opportunity to be a leader in achieving our greenhouse pollution reduction goals — and demonstrating that market transformation is possible."
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