"Gas Utility's Battle to Maintain Fossil Fuel Dependency in Colorado Towns"

Local utility companies, such as Atmos Energy, are opposing efforts by communities in Colorado to transition buildings off fossil fuel energy. While Crested Butte became the first community in Colorado to ban natural gas in new buildings, Gunnison faced opposition from Atmos Energy when it presented a more modest update to its building code. Atmos Energy sent an executive to testify at a city council hearing and warned customers that the plan would increase energy rates and climate pollution. Similar actions have been taken by utilities across the country, making them significant obstacles to climate action. These utilities, which have monopolies granted by states, have a guaranteed source of income and can use customer dollars to fund lobbying efforts. Although federal rules ban utilities from lobbying with customer dollars, there are loopholes. Colorado recently passed a law to try to close these loopholes, but communities may still need to stand up to their own utilities to push for electrification.