Dive Brief:

• Boulder, Colorado's ambition to create a municipal electric utility suffered a setback earlier this week when regulators set a high bar for the city to take over Xcel Energy's grid.
• The Public Utilities Commission said the city has to prove that Xcel is unable or unwilling to serve customers, something Xcel attorney Paula Connolly said is all but impossible. "We are willing and able to serve this area, and Boulder will not be able to prove otherwise," she said.

Dive Insight:

Boulder's City Council had already authorized the condemnation of Xcel's substations and distribution assets sometime next year. But because of the PUC ruling, they could try to find a way to own the T&D infrastructure while still letting Xcel serve customers.