It was only a couple weeks ago when tens of thousands of Coloradans lost power — many for days — because of deliberate, preemptive blackouts ordered by Xcel Energy.

It took Gov. Jared Polis about a week, it seems, to forget their pain and declare victory over utility bills.

“Colorado is #1 when it comes to affordable utilities,” Polis tweeted last week, claiming Coloradans spend $568 a month on utilities, or 6.4% of median household income — “the lowest share of income in the nation.”

The governor attributed this to “(s)mart energy policy, strong consumer protections, and investments in clean, reliable power” helping “keep costs down for families while building a sustainable future.”

Polis even closed with a pledge to “focus on reducing outages big time!” — an ironic rejoinder given that his administration’s electrification agenda actively diverts ratepayer dollars from grid hardening to meeting costly emissions mandates.

It seemed strange for Polis, who often understands economic messaging better than most. For many Coloradans — especially rural and lower-income residents — utility rates are soaring, particularly for electricity. Those costs pile onto all the other things that have made Colorado the third most expensive state to live in, according to the Colorado Chamber of Commerce.

It makes little sense to compare Colorado to states like Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as Polis did in a bar graph accompanying his tweet. Comparing the Centennial State to actual neighbors tells a more complete story.

The Independence Institute has tracked retail electricity rates, finding Colorado’s are roughly 7% above the regional average for the Mountain West — higher in 2024 than Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

To suggest that’s somehow acceptable because Minnesotans pay more as a percentage of household income is out of touch with how working families actually live.

Rural and working-class Coloradans don’t have the same incomes as Front Range tech professionals, yet they endure the same energy bills. Those bills hit the poorest the hardest — and they are climbing.

Independence reports federal Energy Information Administration data shows Colorado’s average residential electricity rate jumped from 14.19 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2022 to 15.06 cents in 2024 — a 6% increase in two years.

As the pace quickens and the state continues retiring coal-fired power plants, rates are bound to rise further.

Roughly 1,267 megawatts of coal-generated electricity in Brush, Craig and Pueblo will be shut down by the end of next year under the Polis administration’s green-energy agenda. The original plan was to close those coal-burning plants this year, but Unit 2 of Xcel’s coal-fueled Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo will stay open for an extra year because Unit 3 is closed for repairs. That goes to show just how essential coal still is to Colorado’s energy mix.

Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Commission recently mandated a 41% emission cut by 2035. Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy project a combined $1.4 billion in costs just to meet the original reduction target of 22% by 2030 — let alone the steeper target five years after. 

These decisions have already been made. They just haven’t fully kicked in yet.

As data centers and quantum computing require more energy resources, we’ll be wishing we had all the energy sources we can get to ensure reliable — and yes, affordable — electricity.

So, why is Polis claiming victory even as his own regulators are guaranteeing future rate hikes? Surely, struggling ratepayers everywhere would like to know.