• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Colorado Lawmakers Seek Relief for Consumers, Businesses From High Energy Costs

Posted on: Thursday, 20 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

By Beth Potter, The Denver Post

Oct. 19--As gas-pump prices stay high and home heating bills rise, some Colorado legislators are looking for ways to help consumers and businesses save money on energy costs.

Ending the state excise tax on ethanol might be a good way to start, said Rep. Alice Madden, D-Boulder, state House majority leader. She spoke Tuesday at a news conference to promote a Nov. 8 government energy forum in Denver.

"We want to make Colorado agriculture a leader in the production and distribution of biodiesel, ethanol and other alternatives for our cars," Madden said.

Drivers often don't even know that their late-model cars can run on ethanol, she said.

Promoting biofuels will also help create jobs around the state, said Mike Bowman, a Wray farmer. Canola seed, which can be made into such fuel, grows well in the economically depressed San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, he said.

One of the first things legislators can do to save money is to make the buildings where they work more energy-efficient, said Lori Carter, property manager at Denver Place, where the news conference was held. Legislators said they chose the downtown building because tenants there save $300,000 a year on energy bills.

The cost savings came after workers replaced many of the building's electric heating and cooling systems with ones that work on natural gas, Carter said.

-----

To see more of The Denver Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.denverpost.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Denver Post

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Denver Post

More News in this Category