History

The City of Boulder has spent years assessing whether to pursue a city-run, community-owned electric utility or to achieve its renewable energy goals through a renewed franchise agreement with its current electric services provider, Xcel Energy. City Council will revisit this debate on August 4 when it considers the progress of recent negotiations between Xcel leadership and City of Boulder representatives. At issue will be whether or not to place a new franchise agreement before the voters during this fall’s election, effectively ending the City of Boulder's 10-year bid to municipalize our electric system.

Since the municipalization assessment began back in 2010, the Boulder Chamber has been a proponent of a negotiated agreement with Xcel Energy. Among our concerns was our belief that the City of Boulder was underestimating the time and expense associated with the municipalization effort, as we now recognize has been the case. This aside from the business community’s interests in protecting the reliability of our power supply and energy cost concerns.

What's Happening Now

We are pleased that the City of Boulder and Xcel Energy are again back at the negotiation table. While the final terms of a proposed settlement and new franchise agreement aren’t clear, we understand that there has been much progress toward meeting the City of Boulder’s renewable energy goals. Now, as City Council prepares to debate the merits of coming to terms with Xcel Energy and placing a new franchise agreement before Boulder voters, we’re encouraging business leaders to engage in the conversation.

Understanding the Issue