The Colorado Public Utilities Commission announced it will open public comment at the start of every commissioner's weekly meeting beginning Sept. 9, a significant expansion of a slot that had previously been available only on the second Wednesday of each month.

Virtual comment will be available at the 9 a.m. Wednesday meetings, while on the second Wednesday of each month, the meeting will run in a hybrid format that also allows in-person participation.

Commission Chairman Eric Blank framed the change as an effort to deepen public engagement, saying in a statement, "The Commission values public comments from residents, and by making it a weekly opportunity, we hope to hear and engage more with the public."

Residents should be aware of what the new slot can and cannot accommodate. Comments offered at the weekly meetings cannot address matters currently before the commission, items on that day's agenda, or active pending proceedings. Comments on pending cases must cite the proceeding number and be filed through the commission's online portal, emailed to [email protected], left by voicemail at (303) 869-3490 in English or Spanish, or mailed to 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202.

Advance registration is encouraged through the commission's meetings calendar, with links posted the Friday before each meeting, though registration is not required. American Sign Language and Spanish interpreting are available with two weeks' notice sent to [email protected].

The expanded comment policy arrives alongside new statutory requirements tied to a recently signed bill. House Bill 26-1326, the PUC sunset reauthorization signed May 29 by Gov. Jared Polis, requires that decisions issued after Sept. 1 include a summary of public comments received.

The legislation also carried a provision that generated notable pushback before it was stripped from the final text. As introduced, the bill would have allowed the three commissioners to hold nonpublic discussions after the close of the record in quasi-judicial cases, but sponsors Rep. Jenny Willford and House Majority Leader Monica Duran removed that provision on April 23. Willford said utilities, the press, and environmental organizations asked that the exemption come out, and striking it, she said, preserves "the current requirement that all commissioner deliberations occur in public and on the record."

The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the Colorado Press Association, and the Independence Institute had opposed the exemption. An energy policy analyst at the Independence Institute told the House Energy and Environment Committee that in a quasi-judicial body that sets monopoly utility rates, "we need transparency far more than creativity," and that an after-the-fact public summary "is not the same as a public deliberation."

Weekly meetings are livestreamed on the commission's YouTube channel; the three commissioners are Blank, Megan Gilman, and Tom Plant.

Whether the expanded comment access and the new public-summary requirement satisfy transparency advocates who fought the private-deliberations provision remains to be seen as the Sept. 9 launch date approaches.