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To inform gas utilities and policymakers in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico as they assess how to meet emissions reduction targets in a cost-effective manner, Synapse Energy Economics developed an in-house tool called the Building Decarbonization Analysis tool.

This tool allows users to analyze the gas utility costs and emissions reductions associated with space and water heating carbon reduction strategies from the residential building sector.

It can analyze the costs and emissions reduction impacts for three main carbon reduction strategies: electrification, renewable natural gas, and green hydrogen. The tool also analyzes the potential and associated costs of annual avoided greenhouse gas emissions for each strategy from 2023 through 2040, and it allows the user to develop portfolios composed of these three strategies.

Synapse modeled five natural gas utility jurisdictions across Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico: Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) and Black Hills Colorado Gas in Colorado, Southwest Gas and NV Energy in Nevada, and New Mexico Gas in New Mexico. For each gas utility, we identified an overlapping electric utility in order to assess the electric sector emissions associated with electrification.