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The next iteration of the clean transition tariff may be coming to Colorado. Xcel Energy is pitching the novel tariff, which is currently under review by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, as part of its broader strategy for interconnecting large loads. It’s modeled in large part after the incentive structure that Google unveiled in Nevada roughly two years ago, via its 115-megawatt enhanced geothermal deal with Fervo.
Since regulators approved the original CTT, a growing number of jurisdictions have explored similar approaches. Nevada, however, remains the only place where the framework — which lets a large customer pay extra for power from emerging technologies that would be too challenging or too expensive to develop under traditional utility incentives — has been formally adopted.
But a lot has changed in the years since the CTT was first created. Google, NV Energy, and the geothermal company Fervo built the original tariff around corporate decarbonization goals, and Big Tech’s willingness to help de-risk emerging clean firm generation. Today, utilities looking to develop a CTT must also juggle the reality that, for hyperscalers, speed to power is trumping emissions reductions. And in Colorado, large loads are seeking tweaks to the original framework to accommodate that reality.
