Opinion: Boulder’s legal work, the muni and the Xcel franchise
I thought it would be interesting to review the legal history around municipalization and the franchise. In 2011, Boulder’s charter was amended to allow for creation of a municipal electric utility under certain conditions, the most significant of which was, “The city council shall establish a light and power utility only if it can demonstrate, with verification by a third-party independent expert, that the utility can acquire the electrical distribution system in Boulder and charge rates that do not exceed those rates charged by Xcel Energy at the time of acquisition …” Even at that time, some of us raised concerns with the vagueness of the “can charge rates that do not exceed … at the time of acquisition” language, since it is not clear whether this rate test applies for a moment, for eternity or what. This unclarity, plus the use of the word “establish” would prove fateful down the road. In 2013, a very public wrangle occurred over the city’s attempt to condemn Xcel’s circuits