As Summit County leaders urge a shift toward all-electric homes, we must confront a critical reality: our electricity is far from carbon-free, and our grid is already fragile.

Colorado still relies heavily on coal for power. In 2023, coal made up about 33% of the state’s electricity generation. Even as coal generation declines, it remains a major part of our energy mix: In 2024, fossil fuels produced roughly 59% of Colorado’s electricity. Xcel’s own reported fuel mix shows coal contributing about 31.9% of their Colorado power supply.

That means converting our homes from gas to electric doesn’t simply eliminate fossil-fuel emissions. It shifts them into the power grid, where we continue to burn coal and natural gas. Meanwhile, Summit County’s electric grid has shown signs of stress: outages in recent years have raised real concerns about reliability as demand grows from new housing. If we force full electrification now, without ensuring robust grid capacity, we risk overloading the system.

Xcel and local governments must provide transparent, data-driven plans: How will the utility scale its infrastructure to handle explosive residential growth? Do they have a formula or timeline for upgrading substations, transformers, not just for peak renewable production, but for heating demand in winter?

Furthermore, it’s hypocritical for town and county legislators to press an all-electric agenda when the electricity they’re promoting is still substantially coal-fired. The burden of that transition: cost; reliability risk; and emissions, falls on the backs of county residents.

We need honest policy: an allowance for hybrid or resilient systems (gas backup, battery storage, etc.), rigorous infrastructure planning, and clearer emissions accounting. Without those guardrails, electrification-driven climate goals may come at too high a cost and too great a risk to homeowners here in Summit County.