Pathways to Energy Affordability in Colorado

Access to energy underlies every aspect of modern human life and plays a critical role in maintaining public health, individual well-being, and economic growth. This makes energy affordability especially critical. Despite this, energy is unaffordable for millions of households across the country. One in three households in the US struggles with energy bills, one in five reports skipping essentials to pay energy bills, and one in seven reports receiving a disconnection notice for energy service.

As Colorado develops strategies to lower carbon emissions, analysis authored on behalf of the Colorado Energy Office by researchers at PSE Healthy Energy (PSE) and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) provides strategies to meet climate goals while increasing energy affordability. When integrated with decarbonization pathways, the Pathways to Energy Affordability report finds that integrating energy affordability considerations can help advance climate goals and accelerate the clean energy transition.