Denver Residents Rally for Legislative Action on Utility Bills as Public Utilities Commission Releases Affordability Plan

One month this winter, Michelle Mottler received a gas bill totaling over $500 from Xcel Energy.

Mottler was out of work and low on cash, to the point that she and her 81-year-old mother, who lives in an auxiliary dwelling unit behind her house in west Denver, weren’t able to eat without help from a food pantry. The hefty Xcel bill was completely impossible — and turning down the heat wasn’t an option.

“Once she had gotten so cold, her teeth chattered so violently she broke a tooth,” Mottler says of her mother. “So she’s really afraid of being too cold. … Part of that heating cost is keeping her comfortable during the winter. I take that responsibility seriously.”

Speaking at an April 12 rally focusing on utility bill affordability, Mottler described how she lost her job in…