Colo. Rev. Stat. § 40-1-102

Current through Chapter 519 of the 2024 Legislative Session and Chapter 2 of the 2024 First Extraordinary Session

Section 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.

(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.

(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. § 40-1-102

Amended by 2023 Ch. 165,§ 15, eff. 8/7/2023.

Amended by 2023 Ch. 245,§ 19, eff. 5/23/2023.

Amended by 2021 Ch. 330, § 2, eff. 9/7/2021.

Amended by 2021 Ch. 283, § 3, eff. 9/7/2021.

Amended by 2021 Ch. 280, § 2, eff. 6/21/2021.

Amended by 2020 Ch. 94, § 2, eff. 3/27/2020.

Amended by 2018 Ch. 363, § 1, eff. 8/8/2018.

Amended by 2014 Ch. 323, § 1, eff. 6/5/2014.

L. 13: p. 464, § 2. L. 15: p. 393, § 1. C.L. § 2912. CSA: C. 137, § 2. CRS 53: § 115-1-2. C.R.S. 1963: § 115-1-2. L. 69: p. 927, § 1. L. 79: (3) amended, p. 1561, § 28, effective June 20. L. 80: (3) amended, p. 742, § 1, effective June 30. L. 84: (3) amended, p. 1051, § 2, effective April 12. L. 85: (3) amended, p. 1307, § 2, effective May 29. L. 94: (6) added, p. 611, § 2, effective April 8. L. 95: (3) amended, p. 1209, § 21, effective May 31. L. 96: (3) amended, p. 143, § 1, effective April 8. L. 2004: (3)(b) amended, p. 905, § 31, effective May 21. L. 2007: (5) and (6) amended and (7) to (11) added, p. 982, § 1, effective May 22. L. 2011: (3)(a)(I) and (3)(b) amended, (HB 11-1198), ch. 418, p. 418, § 11, effective August 10. L. 2012: (1) amended and (1.5) added, (HB 12-1258), ch. 529, p. 529, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2014: (3)(b) amended, (SB 14-125), ch. 1408, p. 1408, § 1, effective June 5. L. 2018: IP and (3)(b) amended, (HB 18-1320), ch. 2164, p. 2164, § 1, effective August 8. L. 2020: (1.3) added, (HB 20-1225), ch. 372, p. 372, § 2, effective March 27. L. 2021: (8.5) added, (SB 21-261), ch. 1617, p. 1617, § 2, effective June 21; (1.1) added and (5) and (6) amended, (HB 21-1238), ch. 2131, p. 2131, § 2, effective September 7; (1.2) and (12) added and (5)(a) amended, (SB 21-246), ch. 283, p. 1676, § 3, effective September 7.

(1) Amendments to subsection (5) by HB 21-1238 and SB 21-246 were harmonized.

(2) Section 7 of chapter 280 (SB 21-261), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to contracts for distributed generation and energy storage facilities executed on or after June 21, 2021.

(3) Section 8 of chapter 330 (HB 21-1238), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to plans, applications, or other documents reviewed by the public utilities commission on or after September 7, 2021.

2023 Ch. 165, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).

2021 Ch. 330, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).

2021 Ch. 283, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).

(1) For further definition of common carriers, see § 40-9-102 . (2) For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending this section, see section 1 of chapter 102, Session Laws of Colorado 1994. For the legislative declaration in HB 20-1225, see section 1 of chapter 94, Session Laws of Colorado 2020. For the legislative declaration in SB 21-261, see section 1 of chapter 280, Session Laws of Colorado 2021. For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1238, see section 1 of chapter 330, Session Laws of Colorado 2021. For the legislative declaration in SB 21-246, see section 1 of chapter 283, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.