Dive Brief:

• The city of Boulder, Colo. has filed a brief in support of its bid to acquire facilities owned by Xcel Energy to form a municipal utility, telling state regulators that all customers can be served and that any sharing of distribution facilities would not be an issue.
• Earlier this month, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission delayed a decision on Boulder's proposed municipal utility plan, and determined that Xcel's motion to dismiss would hinge on the city's plan to serve residents outside the city’s borders.
• A decision on Xcel's motion to dismiss will likely come Nov. 4, the Daily Camera reports.

Dive Insight:

Because Xcel Energy will continue to serve customers outside Boulder's boundary, the city's plan to form a municipal utility now hinges on how those customers will be get their power. In a statement issued last week, Boulder explained that Xcel is arguing that using city-owned lines to get power to its customers located outside the city is a violation of its right to serve those residents. 

But according to the city, it isn't really proposing to do anything new, citing multiple examples of Xcel sharing power lines with other regional utilities to serve its customer base. 

“The city is not proposing anything that is not currently being done by either the [Public Service Co. of Colorado, Xcel's operating name] or other utilities today," said Heather Bailey, Executive Director of Energy Strategy and Electric Utility Development. “We believe this filing demonstrates that the city can meet the needs of all parties by serving customers within the city limits while Xcel continues to serve their customers outside the city."

This argument is part of ongoing arguments centered round the legality of Boulder taking over Xcel assets and how to serve customers living outside the city’s boundaries.

Boulder pointed out that Xcel uses the City of Loveland’s power lines to move power across that city to Xcel’s customers. "Sharing facilities like this reduces costs for all customers," the city said.

While the city said regulators are expected to respond to Xcel’s motion to dismiss by the end of this month, Daily Camera reports a Nov. 4 decision may be more likely.

Over the summer, PUC staff cast doubt on the city's plan, saying the application was incomplete and that Boulder was unclear on how it would facilitate a clean break from Xcel's service. Boulder filed an application in July to take over Xcel assets to form its own utility, citing a desire for a more flexible grid to serve clean energy. 

As part of a supplementation to its application, Boulder has asked that Xcel continue supplying the city with electricity for a five-year span beginning in 2018 as they transition to a municipal utility.

However, the case has become more complicated since regulators in late August allowed five additional interveners to join the proceeding, doubling the number of parties embroiled in the case. The case isn't expected to conclude until 2017.