In its ambitions to get Electric Vehicles swiftly deployed, Colorado's government is poised to make itself a % chump to its largest regulated utility. Let's explore. [short thread]

At issue: Whether to guarantee the utility a right to build EV infrastructure at a cost to all customers (not just EV users), allow the company a 9.3% equity return on *rebates* to those who buy an EV (again, all customers pay), & allow the utility to collect all this in advance.

The consumer advocates -- the staff of the regulator and the attorney general -- were cut out of settlement talks, which then resulted in the utility & NGOs agreeing to logroll one another's priorities, cutting a "settlement" deal. From PUC staff:

It's often hypothesized that PUC procedures protect consumers. That is increasingly not how it works. Here, a utility has essentially colonized the stakeholder process for profiteering. We can expect more of this unless politicians make regulation less of a profit center.

Here is the core part of the settlement that's been agreed to. (It's Case # 20A-0204E if you want to look up details.)

The "rebuttable presumption of prudence" -- wow. That's the utility saying: We'll get paid an excessive return in advance for our expected level of spending, and then you -- consumer advocate -- can play "go fish" to question whether what we spent delivered value. *chef's kiss*