Just Transition in the context of energy is a set of principles and practices meant to ensure that communities where coal plants and mines are located are not left behind when utilities make boardroom decisions to close them down because they are no longer economic. It is a pathway to facilitate the shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy so that communities, many of them rural, land on their feet in the face of losing important economic drivers. The utilities that profited for decades from the operation of these facilities have a corporate responsibility to help coal-impacted communities make this transition. Just Transition requires a commitment to providing financial and other resources that will assist impacted workers, cushion the blow of lost tax revenues, which are often sizeable, and facilitate economic redevelopment. The principle of Just Transition is that a healthy economy and a clean environment can and should coexist.

Colorado House Bill 1037, also known as The Colorado Energy Impact Assistance Act, was signed into law in 2019. It provides financial assistance from the Public Utilities Commission to Colorado workers and communities directly affected by the retirement of coal facilities, paid for by the power generator, to assist communities with coal plant closures in their transition to a post-coal economy.