Dive Brief:

• After years of discussion, Boulder, Colorado, formally notified Xcel Energy that it wants to buy the utility's assets in and near the city to form a municipal utility.
• Xcel opposes Boulder's effort. "We continue to believe that we can help Boulder achieve its goals better, faster and cheaper by working together instead of Boulder attempting to take over our business," Xcel said.
• The utility and Boulder have been discussing possible alternatives that fall short of forming a municipal utility, but the city has put those talks on hold.

Dive Insight:

Xcel would lose a large chunk of its customer base in Colorado if Boulder forms a municipal utility. In part, Boulder wants to form its own utility because it does not believe that Xcel is going far enough in providing renewable energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Xcel contends that forming a municipal utility will be more expensive than Boulder expects. Further, Xcel has proposed providing new services to Boulder that would help the city meet its environmental goals.

If Boulder moves ahead with forming its utility, expect this issue to land in court.