Steve Pomerance

In the last weeks, many of us received robo-calls from Xcel promoting their “Pricing Challenge,” a by-product of the SmartGridCity. This two-phase program is an attempt by Xcel to determine the effects of higher pricing during times of peak electricity use. It will cost $1.5 to $2 million, and be paid for by Xcel customers. It is being promoted through an expensive mailer, whose beautiful design is unfortunately missing important pieces of information. This is not the first time that Xcel has studied time-of-use (TOU) rates, and such rates have been used by other utilities for decades. Unfortunately, it is not clear exactly what new information Xcel expects to gather. I was curious whether people who have photo-voltaic systems could participate in this Challenge, so I asked my friend Ken Regelson, a sustainable energy consultant. Regelson had already called Xcel. “After about 20 phone menus and talking to two people, I did talk to an informed phone rep. According to her, customer

Ballot Item 2B, the Five Year Utility Occupation Tax to Replace Lost Franchise Fee Revenue, has perhaps the longest ballot title since I`ve been involved in Boulder politics. But it is a crucial issue in November`s election. Let me explain a bit about 2B and how it came about. Ballot Item 2B would safeguard the city`s financial ability to deliver services by simply replacing the franchise fee we already pay on our Xcel bills when the current 20-year Xcel franchise expires at the end of December. So 2B is not a new tax, in spite of what the mandatory ballot language required by the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) says. In fact, 2B is designed so that our energy bills will not increase — we will pay essentially the same amount as we would have otherwise paid, just under a different name. Even without a franchise, Xcel is required to continue delivering both electricity and natural gas to its Boulder customers. And if Xcel temporarily extends the franchise past December and continu