Amendment 82 Puts Fossil Fuel Industry Interests Ahead of Climate Goals
A proposal on the November Colorado ballot aims to embed barriers in the state's constitution, making it difficult for developers and utilities to prevent natural gas supply installations.
The initiative, known as Amendment 82 or 'Right to Natural Gas,' may seem harmless but is actually a ploy by the fossil fuel industry to lock in carbon-emitting equipment that will soon be obsolete.
A recent example of this issue arose when Xcel requested a $23 million natural gas supply line for a development in Aurora with 25,000 homes. This cost would have been passed on to all Xcel customers while tying them into outdated infrastructure.
The writer argues that Amendment 82 is unnecessary since natural gas is already legal in Colorado and its inclusion would only complicate the state constitution.