Denver council to consider 20-year Xcel franchise question for Nov. 3 ballot
Council is scheduled to consider the proposed franchise July 20, along with separate agreements covering city energy goals and Xcel service at Denver International Airport.
Denver City Council is scheduled to consider a proposed 20-year franchise with Xcel Energy on July 20, along with separate agreements covering city energy goals and utility service at Denver International Airport.
The measures are Council Bills 26-0970, 26-0973 and 26-0974. The council agenda lists them as proposed items; it does not report a vote or final approval. A combined public hearing is anticipated July 27 if publication is ordered.
The proposed ballot question
Bill 26-0970 would ask voters on Nov. 3 whether to approve a franchise with Public Service Company of Colorado, Xcel’s regulated utility. The proposed franchise would begin Jan. 1, 2027, and run through Dec. 31, 2046.
The filed franchise bill says the arrangement would allow Xcel to use city rights-of-way and other property for utility service, continue undergrounding overhead lines, maintain infrastructure safety and coordinate with the city on emergencies. Xcel would pay Denver for that use and would have to deposit $350,000 for the cost of submitting the question to voters.
If voters approve the franchise, Xcel would have 60 days to execute and deliver the franchise and DIA operating agreements or the franchise would become void. The ballot question is the only one of the three measures that would go directly to voters; the other two are proposed council ordinances.
Fees and energy commitments
A city presentation to council describes a negotiated framework that would give Xcel a nonexclusive right to use city rights-of-way and airport property for electricity, natural gas, steam and chilled water infrastructure. It also addresses coordination involving traffic signals and streetlights.
The presentation describes a 3% franchise fee on annual revenue, expected to generate more than $30 million annually for Denver’s General Fund, and a 1% undergrounding fee, expected to generate more than $10 million annually for undergrounding energy transmission lines. Those are framework estimates, not verified future totals from executed agreements.
Bill 26-0973 would approve a Denver Energy Partnership Agreement through Dec. 31, 2046. The agenda describes it as a vehicle for sustainable, reliable and affordable energy and joint energy leadership. The city presentation lists possible collaboration on clean-energy infrastructure, on-bill financing, load forecasting, distribution planning, data sharing, bill-payment assistance and community solar. The records reviewed do not provide the agreement’s detailed obligations or enforcement terms.
The DIA agreement
Bill 26-0974 would approve a separate operating agreement for Xcel to provide utility services at DIA. The city says the airport needs a separate agreement because it is subject to Federal Aviation Administration and other special regulations and includes property extending into Adams County.
The proposed agreement would keep DIA within the definition of a public project for utility-relocation purposes, extending those relocation benefits across airport property, including its Adams County portion. The agenda and available matter records do not provide the agreement’s full service levels, rates, maintenance assignments, cost-allocation rules or enforcement provisions.
Council has not yet approved any of the three measures. The July 20 meeting and any later final agreements will determine which proposed terms, if any, become operative.