Chairman of Colorado Public Utilities Commission to resign

Joshua Epel, chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, said Tuesday he will resign from the commission effective Jan. 1. “Joshua Epel has been instrumental in transforming Colorado’s business climate and growing our economy,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said in response. “He helped modernize the state’s regulatory environment with consistency and thoughtfulness, giving Colorado a competitive advantage for any business considering relocating or growing." Hickenlooper appointed Epel chairman of the PUC in January 2011 and reappointed him in 2014. Prior to that, Epel chaired the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, to which he was appointed in 2007. Epel on Tuesday told the Denver Business Journal that he’d been thinking about stepping down from the PUC for three or four months. “There are times when you accomplish what you want to accomplish and I feel very comfortable that’s what we’ve done at the PUC,” Epel said. “We’ve had major dockets this year and it’s time to try a new adventure.” Epel did not say what "new adventure" he has in mind. The commission oversees the regulation of some aspects of public transportation, such as taxis and ridesharing companies Uber Technologies and Lyft; electricity issues and the state’s two investor-owned utilities, Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) and Black Hills Energy, part of Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH); and telecommunications, including land-line telephone service. During Epel’s tenure, the PUC oversaw the entry of Uber and Lyft into the Colorado marketplace, and during the last several months has been reviewing Xcel’s multi-pronged effort to update its technology and add more renewable energy. Epel said the major work done this year by the commission included the PUC’s approval of Xcel’s request to build the 600-megawatt Rush Creek Wind Farm, which will be Colorado’s biggest wind farm, as well as a sweeping settlement involving Xcel and the solar power industry to add more solar power in Colorado, and a decision in November on Black Hills Energy’s request to raise electric rates. “Commissioner Epel’s service to the state is appreciated. We wish him success in his future endeavors,” Xcel said in a statement Tuesday. The PUC also reformed state telecom regulations during Epel’s time as chairman. In 2012, it removed state limits on rates that local companies can charge for local landline phone service in areas found to have multiple competing carriers. The changes let the market determine the rates for residential landline service in Front Range cities for the first time. Epel also championed shifting state subsidies reimbursing telecoms for rural landline service to supporting high-speed internet in underserved rural areas. Epel serves on the PUC with Glen Vaad, who began his appointment in January 2014 and whose term expires in January 2017, and Frances Koncilja, whom Hickenlooper appointed in January 2016. Some of the commission meetings have been contentious in recent months, onlookers have said, including one in late November that ended with the PUC cutting Black Hills’ request to raise electricity rates. Black Hills, which serves customers in southeastern Colorado, had sought an increase of $8.5 million a year. The commissioners approved a rate increase of less than $2 million a year over complaints from Koncilja, a Denver lawyer and Pueblo native, who wanted more cuts and said the state commission has been too agreeable in past rate requests from the electric utility, according to a story about the decision in the Pueblo Chieftain. Epel said the conflicts didn’t contribute to his decision to move on. “You look at what I have accomplished — or we, the group effort at the commission — and there are certain things that I’m proud of, like the decarbonization of the economy, putting on cost-effective renewable energy and cost savings for the state,” he said. “That is what I set out to do and it’s time to try something different. I’ve been doing this for six years,” Epel said. John Nielsen, the clean energy program director for Boulder-based Western Resource Advocates, in a statement said Epel had a distinguished career, both in the private and public sector. “Under his leadership, the Colorado PUC has continued to advance Colorado’s position as a national clean energy leader. Over the course of Chairman Epel’s tenure, Colorado utilities have acquired significant new renewable resources, encouraged thoughtful expansion of the rooftop solar industry, and undertaken significant investments in energy efficiency. We thank him for his service to the state,” Nielsen said. State Senate President-Elect Kevin Grantham (R-Canon City) said that the Senate's Republicans "will ensure that any new appointee to the Public Utilities Commission is firmly committed to making the well being of Colorado ratepayers their top priority. "Our most vulnerable citizens and small businesses rely on affordable energy. We also believe the Public Utilities Commission should be prepared to participate as a full partner in a broad regulatory reform agenda moving forward,” Grantham said. The Senate must confirm the governor's appointee.