Welcome New PUC Commissioner
Tom Plant

Tom Plant was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission on January 13, 2023, by Gov. Jared Polis and confirmed by the Colorado Senate on February 3, 2023. His term expires in January 2027.

Plant served as director of the Governor’s Energy Office in the Ritter administration, with principal responsibility for developing and implementing the Governor’s policies for a new energy economy. He served as a Representative in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1998 through 2006, including two years as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and one year as Chairman of the Joint Budget Committee. Among the key pieces of legislation he sponsored were the Colorado Renewable Energy Act, and energy efficiency tax-incentive legislation.

Plant was named Legislator of the Year by such organizations as the University of Colorado and the Sierra Club of Colorado. He received Green Sense Award for Environmental Leadership from Colorado Conservation Voters, and the Champion of the Family Farmer Award from the Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union. While serving in the legislature, he was executive director of the nonprofit Center for ReSource Conservation in Boulder, Colorado. After graduating from Colorado State University, Plant worked as an exploration geologist. Then he joined the Union of Concerned Scientists in its Climate Change Department. At UCS, he explored the causes of global climate change and examined transportation and energy solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Women's History Month: Honoring the Women
of the PUC

As March and Women's History Month ends, we reflect on the women of the PUC. As an organization we don’t have to look far to find remarkable women doing the extraordinary. They are leaders, economists, investigators, advisors, analysts, administrative wizards, researchers, communicators, and judges. They have brought leadership up through the ranks and offer institutional knowledge and history – something the Harvard Business Review calls “Deep Smarts,” or the ability to apply in-depth knowledge and experience in a particular field.

Women of the PUC are on the frontlines and make up roughly 50 percent of the PUC’s workforce.

They are mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, colleagues, and friends. Utility regulation can be a high-pressure environment and not for the faint of heart, but the women of the PUC play an enormous role in balancing conflicting interests to uphold the agency’s mission to protect public interest.

These great women will leave a legacy for those discovering utility regulation. Thank you all! 

Meet Commissioner Megan Gilman –
Profile in Math Achievement

“I really love math,” Megan Gilman says with an undefeatable smile. So much so, that when determining what to do after high school she turned to engineering. Ultimately that led her to The Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. “At the time, however, the major jobs being marketed to us coming out of school weren’t particularly interesting to me.”

Without certainty that she’d stay in her chosen field; she took a position at an engineering firm in Colorado after graduating and has never looked back.

“I firmly understood the mountains of Colorado to be the place I wanted to call home forever.”

Her passion for math has served her well, and she’s among a relatively small percentage of those who pursue engineering that are women. According to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, women make up roughly 14 percent of the profession.

After landing in the Centennial state, Gilman married, and the pair created their own small business which afforded them the opportunity to work with global teams on hundreds of projects focusing in-depth on energy use in the building sector. She holds numerous Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications. Her background and passion led to several board positions, including a role as Chair of the Board at Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs. Holy Cross Energy is a not-for-profit electric cooperative, whose members are also the owners.

“Board work helped me to understand how to obtain and assess required information and to work with other board members to listen, advocate and eventually come to a decision together,” says Gilman. “Some of those skills are transferrable in comparison to the Commission, but with each new position, they became bigger decisions.”

During her nine years on the utility’s board, Gilman was involved in rate analysis and strategy, large power supply changes and approving customer-facing programs and offerings. She also served as a representative to the Colorado Rural Electric Association, working with 22 different rural electric utilities throughout the state.

Between business and her non-profit work, Gilman got noticed. She was named one of the top 20 under 40 design professionals in the high country by Mountain Living Magazine for bringing energy efficiency and renewable energy to the building industry and was recognized as one of the Top Women in Energy by the Denver Business Journal.

In 2020, Governor Jared Polis nominated her to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). She was sworn in as commissioner on March 16.  To read on , please click here.

April is National Safe Digging Month

The PUC's Gas Pipeline Safety Program reminds outdoor planters and home renovators to do one thing above all else - call 811 before you dig.

"It'll save time and prevent damage to personal safety, home or property," says Casey Hensley, program manager, Programs, Enforcement, and Risk Engineer.  In 2022 alone, 811 reports there were 11,082 reported excavator damaged tickets.

The process begins when a homeowner or "excavator" calls 811 to request utility locates. Within a few days, 811 sets up a date and time for the utilities to visit a property and designate where all the utility lines are located underground. Typically, they are marked with flags and spray-paint on the ground. Utilities are identified by their colors, which are:

RED - electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
YELLOW- gas, oil. steam, petroleum or gaseous materials
ORANGE - communications, alarm or signal lines, cables or conduit
BLUE- potable water
PURPLE - reclaimed water, irrigation or slurry lines
GREEN - sewers and drain lines

There's no cost for the service. For more information, visit: https://www.colorado811.org/