Definitions

C.R.S. tit. 40, art. 1
in effect

C.R.S. § 40-1-101 Public utilities law

40-1-101. Public utilities law. Articles 1 to 7 of this title shall be known and may be cited as the "Public Utilities Law" and shall apply to the public utilities and public services described in said articles 1 to 7 and to the commission referred to in article 2 of this title.

C.R.S. § 40-1-102 Definitions

40-1-102. Definitions. As used in articles 1 to 7 of this title 40, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Alternative fuel vehicle" means any automobile, truck, motor bus, boat, airplane, train, tractor, or other type of motorized off-highway equipment or other self-propelled device or vessel that is capable of moving itself or being moved from place to place utilizing, in whole or in part, liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, electricity, or a combination of natural gas and electricity as transportation fuel, whether or not the vehicle is used in agricultural, commercial, domestic, or industrial operations. (1.1) "Behind-the-meter thermal renewable source" means a technology through which a utility customer accesses a renewable heating or cooling source to serve the customer's electric or heating needs for one or more end uses, including water heating, space heating or cooling, or industrial processes. (1.2) (a) "Beneficial electrification" means converting the energy source of a customer's end use from a nonelectric fuel source to a high-efficiency electric source, or avoiding the use of nonelectric fuel sources in new construction or industrial applications, if the result of the conversion or avoidance is to: (I) Reduce net greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the conversion or avoidance; and (II) Reduce societal costs or provide for more efficient utilization of grid resources. (b) "Beneficial electrification" does not include: (I) Retail distributed generation, as defined in section 40-2-124 (1)(a)(VIII); or (II) An energy storage system, as defined in section 40-2-130 (2)(a). (1.3) "Certificate of completion" means an attestation that an interconnection customer submits to a public utility to confirm that a retail distributed generation resource has been properly inspected or otherwise certified to meet the safe operation requirements of a local government's building code enforcement authority. (1.4) "Charge" includes any consideration, however denominated, paid or provided by a retail cooperative electric association to a wholesale electric cooperative in connection with an agreement by which the retail cooperative electric association terminates a wholesale electric service contract with the wholesale electric cooperative. (1.5) "Commission" means the public utilities commission of the state of Colorado. (2) "Commissioner" means one of the members of the commission. (3) (a) "Common carrier" means: (I) Every person directly or indirectly affording a means of transportation, or any service or facility in connection therewith, within this state by motor vehicle or other vehicle whatever by indiscriminately accepting and carrying passengers for compensation; and (II) Every person affording a means of transportation within this state by railroad by indiscriminately accepting and carrying for compensation passengers or property. (b) "Common carrier" does not include a motor carrier that provides transportation not subject to regulation pursuant to section 40-10.1-105, a motor carrier that is subject to part 3, 4, 5, or 7 of article 10.1 of this title 40, a transportation network company, as defined in section 40-10.1-602 (3), or a transportation network company driver, as defined in section 40-10.1-602 (4). (4) "Compensation" means any money, property, service, or thing of value charged or received, or to be charged or received, whether directly or indirectly. (5) (a) "Cost-effective", with reference to a natural gas or electric demand-side management program, a beneficial electrification program, or any measure related to either a demand-side management or beneficial electrification program, means having a benefit-cost ratio greater than one. service, or thing of value charged or received, or to be charged or received, whether directly or indirectly. (5) (a) "Cost-effective", with reference to a natural gas or electric demand-side management program, a beneficial electrification program, or any measure related to either a demand-side management or beneficial electrification program, means having a benefit-cost ratio greater than one. (b) In calculating the benefit-cost ratio, the benefits must include, in a base case, the following, as applicable: (I) The utility's avoided generation, transmission, distribution, capacity, and energy costs; (II) The valuation of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, calculated as the social cost of carbon dioxide in accordance with sections 40-3.2-106 and 40-3.2-107 and the social cost of methane in accordance with section 40-3.2-107, as separate items in the cost-benefit calculation; and (III) Other costs or benefits as determined by the commission. (c) In calculating the benefit-cost ratio, the costs must include utility and participant expenditures for the following, as applicable: (I) Program design, administration, evaluation, advertising, and promotion; (II) Customer education; (III) Incentives and discounts; (IV) Capital costs; and (V) Operation and maintenance expenses. (d) In addition to the base case analysis of cost-effectiveness described in subsection (5)(b) of this section, a utility may provide a case that does not include the social costs of methane and carbon dioxide. (6) "Demand-side management programs" or "DSM programs" means any of the following programs or combination of programs: (a) Energy efficiency, including weatherization and insulation; (b) Conservation; (c) Load management; (d) Beneficial electrification, as defined in subsection (1.2) of this section; and (e) Demand response programs. (6.5) "Disproportionately impacted community" has the meaning set forth in section 24-4-109 (2)(b)(II). (7) "Education program" means a program, including, but not limited to, an energy audit, that contributes indirectly to a cost-effective demand-side management program. Education programs shall not be subject to independent cost-effectiveness requirements. (8) "Full service customer" means a residential or commercial customer that purchases natural gas or electric supply from an investor-owned utility. (8.2) "Interconnection agreement" means an agreement between a public utility and an interconnection customer to interconnect a retail distributed generation resource to the utility system. (8.3) (a) "Interconnection customer" means an entity that proposes to interconnect a retail distributed generation resource on the distribution system of a public utility. (b) "Interconnection customer" includes an affiliate or a subsidiary of a public utility that proposes to interconnect a retail distributed generation resource to the public utility's system. (8.5) "Meter collar adapter" means a device that is installed between the electric meter and the meter socket box on a utility customer's premises and that has electrical connection points both electrically upstream and electrically downstream of the meter. (9) "Net present value of revenue requirements" means the current worth of the expected stream of future revenue requirements associated with a particular resource portfolio, expressed in dollars in the year the plan is filed. To determine the current worth of the expected stream of future revenue requirements, a discount rate at the utility's weighted average cost of capital shall be applied to the expected stream of future revenue requirements. (10) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, and other legal entity. llars in the year the plan is filed. To determine the current worth of the expected stream of future revenue requirements, a discount rate at the utility's weighted average cost of capital shall be applied to the expected stream of future revenue requirements. (10) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, and other legal entity. (11) "Renewable energy" means useful electrical, thermal, or mechanical energy converted directly or indirectly from resources of continuous energy flow or that are perpetually replenished and whose utilization is sustainable indefinitely. The term includes, without limitation, sunlight, the wind, geothermal energy, hydrodynamic forces, and organic matter available on a renewable basis such as forest residues, agricultural crops and wastes, wood and wood wastes, animal wastes, livestock operation residue, aquatic plants, and municipal wastes. (12) "Technical support document" means the 2016 technical support document of the federal interagency working group on social cost of greenhouse gases, entitled "Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis Under Executive Order 12866".

C.R.S. § 40-1-103 Public utility defined

40-1-103. Public utility defined. (1) (a) (I) The term "public utility", when used in articles 1 to 7 of this title, includes every common carrier, pipeline corporation, gas corporation, electrical corporation, telephone corporation, water corporation, person, or municipality operating for the purpose of supplying the public for domestic, mechanical, or public uses and every corporation, or person declared by law to be affected with a public interest, and each of the preceding is hereby declared to be a public utility and to be subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the commission and to the provisions of articles 1 to 7 of this title. (II) As used in this paragraph (a), "water corporation" includes a combined water and sewer corporation, whether as a single entity or as different entities under common ownership. (b) Nothing in articles 1 to 7 of this title 40 apply to: (I) Irrigation systems, the chief or principal business of which is to supply water for the purpose of irrigation; (II) Exemptions provided for in the constitution of the state of Colorado relating to municipal utilities; (III) Hotels, motels, or other lodging-type entities that resell intrastate toll services to their lodging patrons and not to the general public; (IV) Any consumer who owns pay telephone terminal equipment and who resells local exchange and toll service paid for by coin deposit, credit card, or otherwise by using the tariff services and facilities of regulated telephone utilities; (V) The provision or resale to the general public of communications services over a cellular radio system. For purposes of this subparagraph (V), a "cellular radio" means a mobile communications system in which the radio frequency spectrum is divided into discrete channels which are assigned in groups to geographic cells within a service area and which are capable of being reused in different cells within that service area. (VI) Repealed. (2) (a) Every cooperative electric association, or nonprofit electric corporation or association, and every other supplier of electric energy, whether supplying electric energy for the use of the public or for the use of its own members, is hereby declared to be affected with a public interest and to be a public utility and to be subject to the jurisdiction, control, and regulation of the commission and to the provisions of articles 1 to 7 of this title. (b) (I) Paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) requiring regulation by the commission shall not be applicable to a cooperative electric association which has voted to exempt itself from regulation pursuant to the provisions of section 40-9.5-103. Regulation of such cooperative electric associations shall be in the manner provided in part 1 of article 9.5 of this title. (II) Repealed. (c) The supply of electricity or heat to a consumer of the electricity or heat from renewable energy generation facilities owned or operated by an entity other than the consumer, including a master meter operator, as described in section 40-1-103.5, does not subject the owner or operator of the renewable energy generation facilities to regulation as a public utility by the commission if the renewable energy generation facilities are located on property owned or leased by either: (I) The consumer; or (II) A master meter operator or another consumer served by the master meter operator. (3) For the purposes of articles 1 to 7 of this title 40, a motor carrier that provides transportation not subject to regulation pursuant to section 40-10.1-105 or that is subject to part 3, 4, 5, or 7 of article 10.1 of this title 40 is not a public utility. (4) Repealed.

C.R.S. § 40-1-103.3 Alternative fuel vehicles - definition

40-1-103.3. Alternative fuel vehicles - definition. (1) As used in this section, "property or premises", with respect to an electric, natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas extension or connection of service, includes alternative fuel vehicle charging and fueling facilities in addition to buildings and other improvements. (2) For the purposes of articles 1 to 7 of this title 40, persons generating electricity for use in alternative fuel vehicle charging or fueling facilities as authorized by subsection (4) of this section, persons reselling electricity supplied by a public utility, or persons reselling compressed or liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or any component parts or by-products to governmental entities or to the public for use as fuel in alternative fuel vehicles or buying electricity stored in such vehicles for resale are not subject to regulation as a public utility. Electric public utilities may provide the services described in this subsection (2) as unregulated or regulated services. Natural gas public utilities may provide these services as unregulated services. (3) Owners or operators of property or premises containing an alternative fuel vehicle charging or fueling facility, or the owners or operators of the facility, shall purchase the electricity required for the facility from a public utility with the right to sell electricity to the property, premises, or facility except when the owners or operators of the property, premises, or facility generate electricity on the property or premises for use in alternative fuel vehicles as authorized by subsection (4) of this section. (4) The owner or operator of a facility that generates electricity for use in alternative fuel vehicle charging or fueling facilities is not subject to regulation as a public utility, if: (a) The electricity is generated on the property or premises where the charging or fueling facilities are located; and (b) The electricity is generated from a renewable resource that: (I) Qualifies as "retail distributed generation" as defined in section 40-2-124 (1)(a)(VIII), if located on the system of an entity subject to the requirements of section 40-2-124. The electric power requirements for the property pursuant to section 40-2-124 (1) include the demand for existing or proposed alternative fuel vehicle charging or fueling facilities in addition to buildings and other improvements. (II) Complies with section 40-9.5-118, if located on the system of a cooperative electric association; or (III) Complies with section 40-2-124 (7), if located on the system of a municipally owned utility. (5) Sale of electricity or natural gas by a public utility to the owner or operator of an alternative fuel vehicle charging or fueling facility is a retail transaction. (6) An electric public utility may recover the costs of distribution system investments to accommodate alternative fuel vehicle charging, subject to evaluation and cost recovery provisions that are comparable to other regulated investments in the distribution grid; except that distribution system investments that are a component of a transportation electrification plan submitted in accordance with section 40-5-107 are subject to sections 40-3-116 and 40-5-107. The commission shall consider revenues from electric vehicles in the utility's service territory in evaluating the retail rate impact. The retail rate impact from the development of electric vehicle infrastructure must not exceed one-half of one percent of the total annual revenue requirements of the utility.

C.R.S. § 40-1-103.5 Limited exemption of master meter operators - conditions - rules

40-1-103.5. Limited exemption of master meter operators - conditions - rules. (1) Upon its own motion or upon application by any person who purchases gas or electric service from a regulated public utility for the purpose of delivery of such service to end users whose aggregate usage is to be measured by a master meter or other composite measurement device, the commission may exempt such person from regulation of rates under the "Public Utilities Law", articles 1 to 7 of this title 40, as the commission deems appropriate, so long as all of the following conditions are met: (a) Such person, referred to in this section as a "master meter operator" or "MMO", does not charge the end users, as part of its billing for utility service, for any costs in addition to the actual cost billed to the MMO by the serving utility, including without limitation costs of construction, maintenance, financing, administration, metering, or billing for the utility distribution system owned by the MMO; except that this subsection (1)(a) does not apply to refunds, rebates, rate reductions, net metering credits, or similar adjustments attributable to the use of electricity generated from retail distributed generation that is located on property owned or leased by the MMO or by a customer served by the MMO; (b) If the MMO bills the end users separately for service, the sum of such billings does not exceed the amount billed to the MMO by the serving utility; (c) If the MMO bills the end users separately for service, the MMO passes on to the end users any refunds, rebates, rate reductions, or similar adjustments it receives from the serving utility; (d) Any other conditions deemed necessary by the commission. (2) In passing on refunds, rebates, rate reductions, or similar adjustments to end users, the MMO shall notify its current end users, either by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing or by inclusion in any monthly or more frequent regular written communication, of the adjustments and inform the end users that they may claim the adjustments within ninety days after receipt of the notice. The MMO may retain any portion of the adjustments that rightfully belongs to the MMO. Upon the expiration of the ninety-day claims period, the MMO shall identify any such adjustments that are unclaimed and, if the aggregate amount unclaimed exceeds one hundred dollars, the MMO shall contribute the unclaimed amount to the fund established by the legislative commission on low-income energy and water assistance pursuant to section 40-8.5-104. (3) (a) The commission shall adopt such rules as it deems necessary to implement this section. (b) No later than December 31, 2022, the commission shall adopt new or amended rules that would enable landlords of multiunit buildings and tenants in multiunit buildings to share in the production from a net metered retail distributed generation installation. In adopting rules, the commission shall consider Colorado's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and the need to electrify buildings, transportation, and other commercial and industrial sectors to meet those goals. The commission shall also consider rules that would encourage landlords to bear the attendant costs and to retain at least a portion of the resulting benefits in addition to any other incentives the commission finds appropriate.

C.R.S. § 40-1-104 Securities - issuance

40-1-104. Securities - issuance. (1) (a) The term "securities", when used in articles 1 to 7 of this title, includes stocks, bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness. (b) The requirements of this section apply only to public utilities providing electricity or gas service. (2) The power of every gas corporation and of every electrical corporation operating as a public utility as defined in section 40-1-103 that derives more than five percent of its consolidated gross revenues in the state of Colorado as a public utility, or derives a lesser percentage if said revenues are realized by supplying an amount of energy which equals five percent or more of this state's consumption, to issue or assume securities and to create liens on its property situated within this state is a special privilege, hereby subjected to the supervision and control of the commission. Such public utility, when authorized by order of the commission and not otherwise, may issue or assume securities with a maturity date of more than twelve months after the date of issuance for the following purposes: The acquisition of property; the construction, completion, extension, or improvement of its facilities; the improvement or maintenance of its service; the discharge or lawful refunding of its obligations; the reimbursement of moneys actually expended for said purposes from income or from any other moneys in the treasury not secured by or obtained from the issue of securities within five years next prior to the filing of an application with the commission for the required authorization; or any of such purposes or any other lawful purpose authorized by the commission. (3) Such public utility, by written petition filed with the commission setting forth the pertinent facts involved, shall make application to the commission for an order authorizing the proposed issue or assumption of securities and the application of the proceeds therefrom to the purpose specified. The commission, with or without a hearing and upon such notice as the commission may prescribe, shall enter its written order approving the petition and authorizing the proposed securities transactions unless the commission finds that such transactions are inconsistent with the public interest or that the purpose thereof is not permitted or is inconsistent with the provisions of this section. (4) Such public utility may issue or renew, extend, or assume liability on securities, other than stocks, with a maturity date of not more than twelve months after the date of issuance and secured or unsecured, without application to or order of the commission; but no such securities so issued shall in whole or in part be refunded by any issue of securities having a maturity of more than twelve months except on application to and approval of the commission. (5) All applications for the issuance or assumption of securities shall be placed at the head of the commission's docket and shall be disposed of promptly, within thirty days after the petition is filed with the commission unless it is necessary for good cause to continue the same for a longer period. Whenever such application is continued beyond thirty days after the time it is filed, the commission shall enter an order making such continuance and stating fully the facts necessitating the continuance. (6) No provision of this section nor any act or deed performed in connection therewith shall be construed to obligate the state of Colorado to pay or guarantee in any manner whatsoever any security authorized, issued, or assumed under the provisions of this section. (7) All securities issued or assumed without application to and approval of the commission, except the securities mentioned in subsection (4) of this section, shall be void. (8) The commission shall provide for a serial number or other device to be placed on the face of any such securities for the proper and easy identification thereof. d, issued, or assumed under the provisions of this section. (7) All securities issued or assumed without application to and approval of the commission, except the securities mentioned in subsection (4) of this section, shall be void. (8) The commission shall provide for a serial number or other device to be placed on the face of any such securities for the proper and easy identification thereof. (9) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commission may approve a petition from a public utility proposing an investment in any of the following if the commission determines that such investment is not otherwise inconsistent with the public interest or that such investment is not otherwise inconsistent with this section: (a) Any public-private initiative with the department of transportation, as defined in section 43-1-1201 (3), C.R.S.; (b) Bonds issued for turnpikes in accordance with part 2 of article 3 of title 43, C.R.S.; or (c) Repealed. (d) Any other public-private initiative program for transportation system projects in Colorado authorized by law.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-40.docxFetched: 10/6/2026