PUC FACT SHEET: Xcel Just Transition Solicitation (JTS) 2024-2025 Phase I


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PUC FACT SHEET: Xcel Just Transition Solicitation (JTS) 2024-2025

Phase I

 

 

Type of Proceeding
The 2024 Just Transition Solicitation (JTS) is a type of Electric Resource Plan (ERP). This filing is named a “just transition solicitation” because it includes the resources necessary to replace retiring coal plants along with assistance payments to communities impacted by those closures. As with all Electric Resource Plans, the JTS will have two phases. This fact sheet is about Phase I.

Time Frame
Commissioners began deliberations on August 6, 2025 and met several times over the course of the month before reaching a final decision on August 27, 2025. All deliberations are open to the public and can be viewed on the Commission’s YouTube page. A written decision will be issued after oral deliberations conclude. Parties have 20 days following the written decision to  request a rehearing, reargument, or reconsideration. A fuller description of the timeline for this case is available here.

Commissioners/Administrative Law Judge Role
Commissioners have the option to hear a proceeding together (which is known as en banc), assign a hearing commissioner (meaning one Commissioner hears the case and presents their recommendation to the other two Commissioners), or refer the proceeding to an Administrative Law Judge. When an Administrative Law Judge is assigned a case they prepare a Recommended Decision which must be accepted or modified by the full Commission. The JTS was heard en banc, by all three Commissioners.

Interventions
Much like a court case, stakeholders (or parties) can request to intervene in a PUC proceeding. Certain parties (PUC staff, the Utility Consumer Advocate, the Colorado Energy Office) are granted automatic intervention status. Others must request permission by the Commission to intervene. 24 parties intervened in the JTS. The full list is available in Decision No. C24-0872, issued November 22, 2024 in this proceeding, which is available on the Commission’s e-filing site.

Summary
At its core, the JTS presents Xcel’s plan for how much electricity they will need to build or acquire to serve the needs of its customers over the next five years. There are several factors that make this application larger and more complex than previous electric resource plans. One, it includes the resources (e.g. wind, solar, natural gas) necessary to replace retiring coal plants along with determining assistance payments for communities impacted by the plant closure. Second, the JTS proposal reflects a significant increase in electricity demand that is a departure from decades of nearly flat growth. Data centers are one driver of this increase as is home electrification, growth in electric vehicles, and electrification of oil and gas fields. A final set of complexities is due to increasing resource costs, fluctuating U.S. tariff policies, supply chain constraints, and the repeal of federal tax credits.

After the Commission issues a final decision on Phase I, Phase II begins. Through Phase II, Xcel will issue its requests for proposals for new energy generation projects and file a report in this proceeding to present an evaluation of all proposed resources based on the criteria established in the Phase I decision.

 

The Commission’s decision along with filings from each of the parties to the case and public comment reflect the complexities of this case, and can be reviewed through the Commission’s e-filings webpage. This fact sheet will be updated once the final, written decision is issued.

 

Rate Impact
This proceeding focuses on resource planning, including competitive processes for Xcel to acquire cost effective resources. Future proceedings, including rate cases before the Commission, address rate impacts.

About an Electric Resource Plan (ERP)

Electric Resource Plans are filed by utilities every three years and present the utility's plan for how much energy they will need to build or acquire to serve its customers across a certain time period. 

 

The PUC reviews and approves these plans in order to ensure that sufficient generation will be available to meet customer needs in the future and that the utility acquires a cost-effective mix of resources. Colorado electric utilities use competitive bidding to procure resources to meet resource needs and the ERP describes in detail how the utility will evaluate the bids and proposals submitted in response to Requests for Proposals (RFP).

 

The ERP process includes two phases. In Phase 1, the Commission reviews and may approve, or approve with modifications, the utility's plan to acquire new utility resources.  In Phase II, the Commission determines whether the utility should be granted a presumption of prudence for pursuing the acquisition of particular resources. At the end of Phase II, the Commission issues a final decision that will approve, condition, modify, or reject the utility’s preferred cost-effective resource plan.