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HB26-1081 • 2026

Optimize Colorado Electric Transmission System

Section 3 of the act defines 'advanced transmission technologies' as hardware or software technologies that increase the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or resiliency of an existing or new transmis

Energy Labor Taxes Technology
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Rep. S. Camacho, Rep. M. Duran, Sen. D. Roberts, Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. K. Brown, Rep. J. Jackson, Rep. J. Joseph, Rep. S. Lieder, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. McCormick, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. A. Paschal, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. L. Smith, Rep. R. Stewart, Rep. A. Valdez, Sen. J. Amabile, Sen. J. Bridges, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. L. Cutter, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. I. Jodeh, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. W. Lindstedt, Sen. K. Mullica, Sen. C. Simpson, Sen. K. Wallace, Sen. M. Weissman
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is listed as empty in the official metadata, so it remains unknown based on provided text.

Optimize Colorado Electric Transmission System

This law defines new electric grid technologies, requires state agencies to plan for them and report on their work, and sets wage rules for related construction projects.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines 'advanced transmission technologies' as hardware or software that increases the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or resiliency of existing or new transmission facilities.
  • Requires the Public Utilities Commission to create rules so utilities consider these technologies in their 10-year plans and identify ways to lower costs and get funding for new systems.
  • Directs the commission to avoid repeating planning work already done by regional groups when possible.
  • Asks the Electric Transmission Authority to coordinate with smaller regional planning groups as much as practicable.
  • Updates annual reports from the authority to include a description of activities from the previous calendar year, in addition to financial statements for the state fiscal year.
  • Adds a nonvoting seat on the authority's board for the Public Utilities Commission director or their representative.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Colorado Public Utilities Commission
  • Regulated electric utilities in Colorado
  • The Colorado Electric Transmission Authority

Terms To Know

Advanced transmission technologies
Hardware or software that improves the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or resiliency of power lines.
Energy sector public works project
A construction project involving advanced transmission technologies that meets certain criteria and must follow wage rules.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not state the exact date when this bill becomes effective.
  • Projects are called energy sector public works projects only if they meet 'certain criteria,' but the summary does not list all those specific rules.
  • Coordination with regional groups is required 'as much as practicable,' which leaves room for judgment on how often it happens.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

L.001

HOU Energy & Environment

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment updates the rules for evaluating new electric transmission technologies by adding specific planning requirements and clarifying that wildfire benefits found during these evaluations do not need a separate approval process.

  • Utilities must include their most recent generation and load forecasts from official resource plans when assessing advanced transmission technologies.
  • The evaluation of technologies will focus on those able to reduce or manage the need for new transmission lines if it is technically possible.
  • A new rule states that identifying wildfire-related benefits during a technology assessment does not start a separate approval process with the commission.
  • The amendment text refers to specific legal subsection numbers and definitions (like 'wildfire-related benefit') from other parts of the bill that are not included in this document, so their exact details cannot be explained here.
  • Some changes involve removing general phrases about meeting needs without replacing them with new requirements, which may limit how broadly utilities can describe potential benefits.
L.003

HOU Energy & Environment

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment changes a specific number in the bill from seventy-five to sixty.

  • The text on page 5, line 4 of the original bill is changed by removing the word 'SEVENTY-FIVE'.
  • The new text replaces that removed part with the word 'SIXTY'.
  • The amendment does not explain what number or unit (such as a percentage, dollar amount, or year) is being changed.
  • Without more context from the full bill, it is unclear how changing this specific number affects electric transmission technologies.
L.008

SEN Transportation & Energy

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment requires officials to think about using bonds from the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority when planning projects.

  • Officials must consider if they can use money raised through bonds issued by the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority.
  • The text does not explain what happens after officials evaluate using these bonds or how much funding might be available.
L.009

SEN Transportation & Energy

Passed [*]

Plain English: This amendment adds a new rule allowing electric utilities to use existing regional studies instead of creating duplicate ones, as long as they clearly show how those studies meet state requirements.

  • Updates the bill text to include a new section (9) regarding transmission planning rules.
  • Allows regulated utilities to reference and incorporate analyses already done by regional grid organizations or independent system operators.
  • Requires utilities that use these outside studies to clearly identify which parts of those studies satisfy state requirements for advanced technology evaluations.
  • The amendment does not define exactly what qualifies as an 'applicable' regional organization, leaving some details open to future interpretation.
  • It is unclear how the commission will decide if a specific outside analysis fully addresses all state requirements without further guidance.
L.004

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment updates rules for electric transmission projects to include new technologies and mobile storage, while adding specific wage requirements for construction work on these advanced systems.

  • Allows the Public Utilities Commission to approve higher performance standards that account for changing technology needs instead of just lower costs.
  • Expands energy storage definitions to explicitly include any type of mobile or relocatable battery system.
  • Requires utilities to submit analyses about new transmission technologies as part of their ten-year planning documents.
  • Mandates that construction projects using advanced transmission technologies must pay prevailing wages and use apprentices, unless the work is just a software upgrade or small installation.
  • The exact list of 'advanced transmission technologies' depends on future definitions in another section of law not fully detailed here.
  • Specific details about how to calculate project costs for mobile storage systems are not included in this text.
L.006

Second Reading

Lost [**]

Plain English: This amendment clarifies that the bill does not force utilities to use new transmission technology, pick specific brands, or charge customers for these technologies unless they save money in the long run.

  • Utilities are not required by this law to install advanced transmission hardware or software.
  • The Public Utilities Commission cannot order a utility to buy equipment from a specific company or use a specific device.
  • Customers will only pay for new technology if officials find that it lowers total costs over the life of the project.
  • This amendment was voted down and did not become part of the final bill, so these protections were not added to the law.
  • The text does not explain what happens if a utility chooses to use new technology without meeting the cost-saving requirement.
L.007

Second Reading

Passed [**]

Plain English: This amendment adds a new rule stating that the bill does not stop utilities from testing other technologies or devices to make the electric transmission system more reliable and stable.

  • Updates references in the report to include both section (7) and section (8).
  • Adds a new subsection (8) clarifying that nothing prevents evaluating additional technologies for grid protection.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-20 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-20 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  4. 2026-05-20 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  5. 2026-04-14 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Concur - Repass

  6. 2026-04-09 House

    House Considered Senate Amendments - Result was to Laid Over Daily

  7. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments - Committee

  9. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Senate Committee on Transportation & Energy Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole

  10. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Transportation & Energy

  11. 2026-03-06 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  12. 2026-03-05 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee, Floor

  13. 2026-03-03 House

    House Second Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  14. 2026-02-26 House

    House Committee on Energy & Environment Refer Amended to House Committee of the Whole

  15. 2026-02-02 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Energy & Environment

Official Summary Text

Section 3 of the act defines 'advanced transmission technologies' as hardware or software technologies that increase the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or resiliency of an existing or new transmission facility.
Section 4 requires the Colorado public utilities commission (commission) to adopt rules requiring a regulated electric utility to consider advanced transmission technologies in the electric utility's 10-year transmission plan and to identify strategies to reduce the costs of, and obtain financing for, new transmission. The commission is directed to minimize duplication of transmission planning processes, technical studies, or analyses conducted through an applicable regional transmission organization or independent system operator.
Section 5 requires the Colorado electric transmission authority (authority) to, as much as practicable, engage and coordinate with formal subregional transmission planning organizations.
Under current law, the authority is required to annually submit a report of its activities, including a complete operating and financial statement covering the operations of the authority for the previous state fiscal year, to certain committees of reference of the general assembly. Section 6 requires that the annual report also include a description of the activities and accomplishments of the authority during the previous calendar year.
Section 7 adds a nonvoting seat to the authority's board of directors for the director of the commission or the director's designee.
Section 8 clarifies that a project that includes advanced transmission technologies and meets certain criteria is an energy sector public works project. Section 9 states that an energy sector public works project that includes advanced transmission technologies must meet applicable prevailing wage requirements and apprenticeship utilization requirements.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)