BOULDER - Xcel Energy Inc. and Boulder business can agree on at least one thing as city officials study whether to form a municipal utility: Businesses need to speak up and make their voices heard.

The current state of municipalization was the subject of a panel Tuesday, Aug. 7, at the Boulder County Business Report's Green Summit.

Jerome Davis, Xcel Energy regional vice president and the executive in charge of community relations in Colorado, represented the company. Heather Bailey, the city of Boulder's executive director of energy strategy and electric utility development, represented the city.

The debate over municipalization has quieted considerably since last November, when Boulder voters narrowly approved a ballot measure giving the city the authority to study and possibly form a municipal utility.

Boulder is studying its options, and Bailey is getting acquainted with the community and issues, she said. She began in the newly created role this summer.

The city has set strict goals a potential utility must meet before it could be created, and Bailey said her effort will be to study whether those goals are attainable. Her goal is to be transparent and open to the community, both residents and businesses, she said.

The city is driving the process, Davis said. Xcel Energy Inc. (NYSE: XEL) does not want to sell its assets in Boulder - including poles, wires and substations - to the city. If the city attempts to acquire them through use of eminent domain, Xcel Energy expects the issue will be resolved in court.

"We are preparing for costly and lengthy litigation," Davis said. "This is not our preferred choice at all, but we do have to prepare for it."

Before coming to a decision, Bailey said, the city would reach out to businesses in Boulder. She said she has begun talking with some of the larger businesses in Boulder to understand their concerns.

For all businesses, Bailey said, she plans to make herself available for them to "either vent or to provide ideas."

Xcel Energy wants local businesses to keep a watchful eye on the city.

"You need to demand accountability from the city. You need to ask questions, you need to participate, and you need to make sure the fringe does not override the mainstream," Davis said.

Davis reiterated Xcel Energy's belief that the city could best achieve its goals while remaining in the Xcel system.