Dive Summary:
- Xcel Energy has given Boulder, Colorado formal notice that it believes the town has no legal right to provide electricity to Boulder County's 5,700 residents.
- Boulder stated its intention to serve county residents outside the city limits in a Feb. 26 report; the City Council will vote in July whether to condemn two Xcel substations and electricity distribution systems in unincorporated Boulder County.
- Xcel argues that areas outside of the limits are subject to the jurisdiction of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which has already granted Xcel permission to service those areas.
From the article:
"... The state constitution says that a home rule city 'shall have the power, within or without its territorial limits, to construct, condemn and purchase, purchase, acquire, lease, add to, maintain, conduct, and operate water works, light plants, power plants, transportation systems, heating plants, and any other public utilities or works or ways.'
Boulder officials have said that if they move forward with municipalization, they will condemn two substations in Boulder County and the attached distribution systems, which serve both city and county residents, as well as Xcel's substations and distribution system within city limits. They say owning that part of the distribution system will make it easier to sever the system from Xcel's broader network and improve the reliability of a future city utility. ..."