Colorado voters reject Amendment 82, constitutional right to natural gas

Amendment 82 failed among Colorado voters in Tuesday's election. The rejected amendment would have created a constitutional right for consumers to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating and for distributors and utilities to sell natural gas to homes and businesses. 

Most Coloradans use natural gas to heat their homes, in part because it's cheaper than electricity. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association says homeowners with electric heating will spend an estimated $1,249 this winter, while those with gas heating will spend $726.

Supporters of Amendment 82 said that if the measure fails, energy bills will climb higher still. 

The Colorado Energy Office told the Public Utilities Commission that 600,000 homes would need to be converted from gas to fully electric to meet the new Clean Heat Plan's 41% emission reduction goal. The National Home Builders Association says it costs $28,491 on average to transition a home in Denver to fully electric.

Opponents said, whether someone likes natural gas or not, Amendment 82 is a bad idea.

They said it would jeopardize environmental regulations and could increase Coloradans' energy costs. They say companies could use their new constitutional right to argue against safety inspections, for example, or pollution limits, and could even use it to make consumers pay for things like new pipelines or hookups for data centers.