Dive Brief:
- Filings by Xcel Energy and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission each oppose the City of Boulder’s appeal of the commission’s ruling that Boulder must have PUC assent to condemn Xcel assets outside the city’s boundaries.
- The commission ruled it alone has jurisdiction to regulate actions by a municipal utility such as the one Boulder is creating outside that city’s boundaries.
- Xcel endorsed the ruling unequivocally, claiming it has the right to serve customers outside Boulder city limits who do not want to be served by the new Boulder muni unless the CPUC rules otherwise.
Dive Insight:
Both Xcel and the CPUC assert in their filings that reliability depends on the PUC retaining exclusive authority over the regional grid and decide on jurisdictional boundaries. Boulder officials have said they likely will file for condemnation of Xcel's assets by September and offered no official response to the Xcel and PUC filings.
After failing to get enough votes in either of two municipal referendums to stop the formation of Boulder’s proposed muni, Xcel filed a lawsuit in Boulder District Court earlier this month to block the muni formally created by a unanimous Boulder City Council vote May 6.
The City of Boulder is expected to file an official response to that lawsuit Friday.
