Utilities Watch

Boulder-Xcel tiff may call for 2nd vote

We said it before ballots were even cast on Boulder’s path toward creating a municipal utility: "Any expenditure in the hundreds of millions of dollars should be explicitly... MORE

Boulder recruiting group to steer utility

BOULDER – It’s time for business leaders to have a say about what a new city-owned, city-run electric company could look like.

Boulder city officials are creating a... MORE

Xcel consultant questions city's utility model

BOULDER - Xcel Energy consultant Bob Bellemare on Wednesday questioned if 2013 is the best time for city of Boulder officials to decide whether or not to condemn Xcel's electricity assets... MORE

Boulder files to avert Xcel obligation

BOULDER - Attorneys for the city of Boulder on Friday filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission related to the possible creation of a local electric utility. The... MORE

Boulder taps N.C. firm to review utility plan

BOULDER - North Carolina-based PowerServices Inc. has been selected by the city of Boulder to provide an independent review and verification of the city's modeling for a new electric... MORE

Problems delay OK of utility ballot petition

BOULDER - The city of Boulder's Clerk's Office has notified a citizens group that its petition to put new provisions into the city charter concerning a potential municipal electric... MORE

Group wants vote on Boulder energy bonds

BOULDER - Residents in Boulder should get one more chance to vote on the potential cost of the city's plan to create a municipal utility if it goes forward, a spokesman for a new Boulder... MORE

New Boulder website explains electric stance

BOULDER — The city of Boulder has created a web page to provide an explanation of the modeling process that led to recent conclusions that a local electric utility could utilize... MORE

Boulder picks finalists to review utility plan

BOULDER - The city of Boulder has selected two finalists to provide an independent review and verification of the city's modeling for a new electric utility.

The two leading... MORE

Webpage explains Boulder's energy model

BOULDER - The city of Boulder has created a webpage to provide an explanation of the modeling process that led to recent conclusions that a local electric utility could utilize more... MORE

Boulder seeks consultant to verify utility rates

BOULDER - Some 43 people have downloaded information about a consulting job, the task of which would be to verify that a possible city-run utility would not charge rates above those Xcel... MORE

Xcel still wants role despite council vote

BOULDER - The city of Boulder's power supplier Xcel Energy Inc. will continue to work with Boulder officials to create "new energy options," a spokeswoman said, despite a Boulder City... MORE

Boulder moving forward with municipalization

BOULDER - The Boulder City Council Tuesday night voted 8-1 to move forward with plans to create a municipal electric utility.

Councilman Ken Wilson cast the lone descenting... MORE

Key vote due tonight on municipal utility

BOULDER - Boulder City Council members are expected to decide tonight whether to move forward with plans to create a municipal power utility.

If a majority of council... MORE

Xcel, city attorney spar over customers

BOULDER - Xcel Energy Inc. and the city of Boulder are sparring over who has the legal right to serve about 5,700 utility customers in unincorporated parts of Gunbarrel, other... MORE

Boulder, Xcel to discuss 'alternatives'

BOULDER - A new group of city officials, Xcel Energy representatives and community members will discuss alternatives to forming a municipal energy utility, the Boulder City Council... MORE

PUC blocks Xcel's smart-grid fee hikes

BOULDER - Xcel Energy Inc. will not be allowed to collect $16.6 million from customers in connection with its SmartGridCity pilot project in Boulder, the Colorado Public Utilities... MORE

Boulder-owned utility not seen as bond worry

BOULDER — If the city of Boulder’s financial assumptions about a possible municipal utility are incorrect, the error should be in the city’s favor, the expert in... MORE

Boulder can operate utility, but should it?

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Utility customers in Boulder wait, watch

BOULDER – Businesses and institutions in Boulder continue to watch and try to understand the latest developments in the MORE

Energy advisers: Annexation not needed for utility

BOULDER — The owners of 5,700 homes and businesses outside Boulder’s city limits will not become Boulder residents if the city forms a municipal utility, but they would become... MORE

Report details options for municipal utility

BOULDER — What could Boulder’s municipal electric utility do and not do – and at approximately what cost?

Those were some of the most important questions... MORE

Boulder: We've given Xcel enough data

BOULDER - The city of Boulder believes it already has publicly released all the information about its municipalization research that Xcel Energy Inc. seeks or is entitled to, following... MORE

Xcel files request to see energy models

BOULDER - Xcel Energy on Wednesday filed an open records request with the city of Boulder, asking to see the models the city has used when trying to determine if it could create a... MORE

Boulder: 'Utility of the future' possible

BOULDER – Boulder's team of energy advisers and legal experts believe the city should be able to create a municipal "utility of the future," according to a report released... MORE

Report details options for municipal utility

BOULDER - What could Boulder's municipal electric utility do and not do - and at approximately what cost?

Those were some of the most important questions Boulder's energy... MORE

Staff to reveal energy options Thursday

BOULDER - Boulder's energy staff has prepared six options it will present to the Boulder City Council on Feb. 26, and details of each option are expected to be released to the public late... MORE

City: No annexation needed to form utility

BOULDER - The owners of 5,700 homes and businesses outside Boulder's city limits will not become Boulder residents if the city forms a municipal utility, but they would become the... MORE

Experts to brief council on options for city utility

BOULDER – The future of Boulder's efforts to create a municipal utility will become clearer Feb. 21, when the city's energy experts are scheduled to make public their initial... MORE

Getting down to business on municipalization

In November 2011, voters in the city of Boulder narrowly approved measures 2B and 2C, allowing exploration of the municipalization option. MORE

Boulder shifts timeline for mulling energy future

BOULDER — The timeline for presenting possible strategies for meeting the city of Boulder’s energy goals has shifted to provide more time to incorporate the findings of key... MORE

City hires advisers for utility research

BOULDER — The city of Boulder is paying three companies a total of $230,000 to assist in the first phase of its ongoing efforts to consider the possible creation of a city-owned... MORE

Boulder, Xcel express willingness to meet

BOULDER — The city of Boulder and Xcel Energy Inc. have expressed a willingness to meet to consider ways of achieving the city’s energy goals, although members of the Boulder... MORE

City shifts Energy Future strategies timeline

BOULDER - The timeline for presenting possible strategies for meeting the city Boulder's energy goals has shifted in order to provide more time to incorporate the findings of key... MORE

Boulder, Xcel express willingness to meet

BOULDER - The city of Boulder and Xcel Energy Inc. both have expressed willingness to meet to consider ways of achieving the city's energy goals, although members of Boulder City Council... MORE

City outlines Boulder/Xcel partnership

BOULDER - The creation of "Xcel Boulder" or the enhancement of SmartGridCity could be the basis of a future partnership that would keep the city of Boulder in the Xcel Energy system,... MORE

Council lays out utility criteria

BOULDER — The Boulder City Council has set the criteria it will use to determine whether it should form a municipal electric MORE

Boulder OKs metrics for municipalization

BOULDER – Boulder City Council voted 7-1 late Thursday night to approve the metrics it will use to evaluate whether or not forming a municipal electric utility is feasible.
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Municipalization critic calls city data ‘rigged’

BOULDER – A critic of Boulder’s electric utility municipalization study is calling the city’s proposed metrics "rigged" to enable the city to create a... MORE

Council to see metrics for city-owned utility

BOULDER – Months of intense work have resulted in the creation of the metrics the city of Boulder could use to decide whether or not it should create a municipal utility, the... MORE

Utility municipalization update offered tonight

BOULDER — The city of Boulder's continuing studies about whether it should form a municipal utility will be the subject of a presentation tonight from the city's chief energy... MORE

2011 - Boulder voters OK’d pursuit of municipalization

BOULDER — As 2011 came to a close, the city of Boulder and Xcel Energy Inc. were trying to determine the way forward following MORE

City gathering information on municipalization

BOULDER – The city of Boulder will know early next year whether creating a municipal utility is feasible and what technical, financial and legal hurdles it faces, the city’s... MORE

City should revive talks with Xcel

Few battles have been as acrimonious as that between the city of Boulder and Xcel Energy, which have been tangling over the city’s push toward creating its own municipal utility. MORE

City wants feedback on municipal utility

BOULDER - The city of Boulder continues to want businesses and skeptics of its effort to form a municipal electric utility to speak up, the city's energy strategist told the Boulder... MORE

Boulder’s path to municipal utility still unclear

BOULDER — It has been 10 months since Boulder residents gave the city the authority to create a municipal utility, and the roles of MORE

Utility decision could come next year

BOULDER - The city of Boulder will know early next year whether creating a municipal utility is feasible and what technical, financial and legal hurdles it faces, the city's energy... MORE

Council to review municipalization plan

BOULDER - The city of Boulder could make a decision on whether it should continue working to form a municipal utility or pull the plug on the project early next year, according to a work... MORE

Utility debate opens Green Summit

BOULDER — Xcel Energy Inc. and Boulder businesses can agree on at least one thing as city officials study whether to form a MORE

Differences still exist between Xcel, Boulder

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... MORE

Xcel wants to recoup SmartGrid overrun

DENVER - Xcel Energy Inc.'s attempt to make up for $16.6 million in cost overruns from the Boulder SmartGridCity project went before an administrative law judge Wednesday in a hearing... MORE

Summit to explore Boulder's energy future

BOULDER - Representatives from the city of Boulder and Xcel Energy Inc. will participate in a discussion of "Boulder's Energy Future: What's Next?" at the Green Summit: Blending Business... MORE

PUC backs Boulder in dispute with Xcel

DENVER — The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has sided with the city of Boulder in its dispute with Xcel Energy Inc. over whether the utility should be allowed to change... MORE

PUC sides with Boulder in Xcel dispute

DENVER - The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has sided with the city of Boulder in its dispute with Xcel Energy Inc. over whether the utility should be allowed to change incentive... MORE

Be careful with Boulder energy regs

Many Boulder business and property owners have expressed concern about possible new commercial energy regulations being considered by city officials. The city, as staff writer Michael... MORE

Energy efficiency, but at what cost?

BOULDER — As the city of Boulder considers changes to its climate action plan, businesses and commercial property owners are concerned about the possibility the city will pass... MORE