Xcel Gas Rate Hike, Dolores River Conservation, Foie Gras Denver Ballot Question

Headlines Wednesday, December 31, 2025

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    Xcel Gas Rate Hike, Dolores River Conservation, Foie Gras Denver Ballot Question KGNU News

Xcel Proposes Gas Rate Hike

Xcel Energy has filed a formal request with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to increase natural gas rates by $190 million. If approved, the average residential customer would see their monthly gas bill jump by about $7.60 starting October 2026.

The company says the hike is necessary to pay for critical safety improvements, including the replacement of high-risk pipelines, as well as rising maintenance costs and investor returns. This request comes just one month after Xcel sought a separate $350 million increase for its electric customers.

Consumer advocates have criticized the move, calling the company’s recent spending “out of touch” with the financial reality of Colorado families. While Xcel is pledging $5 million to help low-income households, critics are concerned that middle-income residents will still struggle under the weight of back-to-back rate hikes.

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Conservation Effort for Lower Dolores River Moves Ahead

Proponents of a years-long effort to create a National Conservation Area (NCA) on the lower Dolores River in southwest Colorado are hoping the recent introduction of legislation will advance the project.

 On Dec. 17, legislation that would create the NCA on about 68,000 acres in Montezuma, Dolores, and San Miguel counties was unanimously passed by a US Senate Committee. However, the bill, which was introduced by Colorado Senators Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper, still must pass the full Senate and has not even been introduced in the House.

The effort to create the NCA has been going on for more than a decade and a half. It is supported by a wide variety of stakeholders, including commissioners from all three counties involved, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and a number of outdoor recreation and conservation advocacy groups.

This story was reported by KSJD’s Gail Binkley for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

Foie Gras Question Will Be On Denver’s 2026 Ballot

The Denver Clerk and Recorder approved a 2026 ballot measure that, if voted into law, would ban the sale and production of Foie Gras. Foie Gras, or fattened duck liver, is a French cooking delicacy produced by over-feeding ducks, often force feeding the animals.

Though Denver has no foie gras-producing farms, Proponents of the ballot initiative Pro-Animal Colorado say the measure would prevent any more from cropping up and would ban the sale of the product, with fines for violations mounting up to $5,000.

The Colorado Restaurant Association has yet to take a position on the measure, though Nick Hoover, the director of government affairs for the restaurant association said the advocacy group “consistently oppose[s] mandates and bans on the restaurant industry.”

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