HB26-1007 expands customer rights to install and use certain small-scale distributed energy resources, especially portable-scale solar generation devices and meter collar adapters. The bill defines a portable-scale solar generation device as a single photovoltaic system per address with a maximum output of 1,920 watts, requires it to include a feature that prevents energizing the grid during an outage, and limits customers to one device per wall outlet per address. It also bars retail electric service providers and wholesale energy providers from requiring prior approval, charging a related fee, or mandating extra equipment beyond what is built into the UL-listed device, while allowing utilities to require notice of the device’s presence and size.
The bill also directs the Public Utilities Commission to revise interconnection rules by December 31, 2026, to require regulated utilities to allow customer-owned meter collar adapters and to prohibit production meters as a condition of interconnection for customer-sited distributed energy resources up to 10 kilowatts. Similar requirements are extended to municipally owned utilities and cooperative electric associations. The bill further creates a statewide policy against unreasonable restrictions on portable-scale solar devices, makes such devices an “energy efficiency measure” under common-interest-community law beginning January 1, 2027, and voids covenants or restrictions that unreasonably prohibit their installation, use, or operation.
The bill’s impact on state law is broad across utility regulation, net metering, building safety, and common-interest-community governance. It amends Colorado’s renewable energy and net metering statutes to standardize interconnection rules for investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative utilities; it also adds consumer-safety and product-listing requirements for low-output portable solar devices sold in the state after January 1, 2027. In addition, it limits liability for utilities for damage or injury caused by these devices and preserves the ability of property owners to impose reasonable safety-related restrictions.
Overall sentiment appears favorable and supportive of distributed energy resources, customer choice, resilience, and lower-cost solar access. The bill’s legislative declaration emphasizes affordability, backup power during outages, and reducing barriers for households and small businesses. The absence of recorded opposition in the provided committee/vote history, combined with the bill’s final status as signed by the governor, suggests the measure had broad support.
The main points of contention likely center on utility oversight and property-rights concerns. Utilities may object to being prohibited from requiring approval, fees, production meters, or additional equipment, and to the mandated acceptance of customer-owned meter collar adapters. Common-interest communities and property owners may also be concerned about limits on covenants and restrictions, although the bill preserves authority to impose reasonable restrictions tied to fire safety, electrical overload prevention, property protection, and device location.
HB26-1007 amends Colorado statutes governing utility interconnection, net metering, renewable energy standards, and common-interest-community restrictions. It requires the Public Utilities Commission to update interconnection rules for regulated utilities and imposes parallel obligations on municipally owned utilities and cooperative electric associations, including acceptance of customer-owned meter collar adapters and a ban on production meters for certain small distributed energy resources. It also creates new statewide rules for portable-scale solar generation devices, including product safety, labeling, sale restrictions, and limits on private covenants that would unreasonably block their use.
The bill’s overall tone is strongly pro-solar and pro-consumer. The legislative findings frame the measure as improving affordability, resilience, and energy choice, and the final enactment suggests the proposal was politically viable. No committee transcript or recorded vote opposition was provided, so the available record indicates general support or at least no visible public controversy in the materials supplied.
The most likely areas of disagreement are utility operational control, safety compliance, and property restrictions. Utilities may resist being required to approve customer-owned meter collar adapters on a fixed timeline, to post approved-device lists, and to forgo production meters for smaller systems. Property owners and common-interest communities may object to the bill’s limits on covenants and restrictions, though the bill preserves reasonable safety-based conditions. Another possible point of contention is whether portable plug-in solar devices should be exempt from some installation and code requirements, balanced against concerns about electrical and fire safety.