• An administrative law judge at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission will listen to representatives of Xcel Energy and Boulder, Colo., in August as the city tries to prevent the utility from raising customer's rates and recoup $16.5 million that it invested in its SmartGridCity project.
• Xcel announced its Boulder smart grid initiative four years ago, promising greater customer control over energy use and adding new features that would be helpful for electric car owners.
• The commission previously gave Xcel permission to raise rates, but Boulder argues that the company did not fulfill its promises to the city.

From the article:

Boulder officials say Xcel Energy has not delivered on its promise that the utility's smart grid would allow local customers to control how and when they use electricity, and, therefore, the company should not be allowed to recoup the final $16.5 million it invested in the project.

But Xcel energy argues that its work on SmartGridCity is "finished" and that the company should be allowed to further raise customer rates across Colorado to pay for the project. ...