Xcel franchise agreement will expire

August 4, 2010 · Posted by in Energy 

 

Xcel Energy's Valmont Station -- could the city take over for Xcel? | Photo by Mara Auster, Daily Camera.

Boulder City Council took the recommendations of its staff — and not those of David Eves. They won’t be putting renewal of the Xcel franchise agreement on the ballot in November — and they won’t be renewing it, either:

 

A 20-year agreement between Xcel Energy and the city of Boulder will be allowed to expire at the end of the year, the Boulder City Council decided late Tuesday night, leaving voters this fall to decide whether to impose a tax on the utility while the city studies other options for its energy future.

The decision to abandon pursuing the long-term agreement with the utility giant came in late-night 6-2 vote.

“The world has changed, the energy-supply world has changed dramatically,” said Councilman Matt Appelbaum. “I, honestly, can’t imagine signing a multi-decade agreement.”

So, what now?

Now, voters will have the option of approving a tax that would replace the money Xcel would have paid under a new franchise agreement — or leaving the city in a $4 million hole annually, which would likely cuts in city programs (for which the city has recently been compiling a “priority” list).

And now, the city may revisit old what-ifs, like purchasing Xcel’s equipment and running its own energy utility like these places do.

And now, says City Council Member Ken Wilson, Xcel may reconsider working on the “customer side” of Smart Grid City.

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