Xcel Energy’s fight to overturn Elbert County’s denial of a permit for part of a $1.7 billion transmission project highlights a clash between two of Colorado’s high-wattage issues: the growing demand for electricity and local governments’ right to regulate land uses.

Xcel, the state’s largest electric utility, wants the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to allow it to proceed with plans for its Colorado Power Pathway, which will stretch across 12 counties, most in eastern Colorado. The total project includes roughly 550 miles of new lines and new and expanded substations to improve the electric grid and deliver more power from renewable energy sources.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, gave the go-ahead in 2022 to the project that Xcel says will help it deliver m

See Full Page