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Jun. 22—Boulder announced this week its opposition to a settlement agreement reached by Xcel Energy with other parties in an ongoing electric rate case, according to a release.
At the end of last year, the Public Utilities Commission received an application request from Xcel Energy to increase revenues collected from customers by $262.3 million, resulting in an 8.2% increase for residential customers, a 7.77% increase for small commercial customers and a 5 to 7% increase for large commercial and industrial customers if approved.
Boulder officials said in a release that while the application includes investments in wildlife mitigation, which the city supports, it additionally proposes a 10% increase in equity return for shareholders along with rate increases that would "further burden residents and businesses already struggling with rising utility costs."
Though negotiations were successful in adjusting Xcel's request for an increase of 4.4% to 1.7%, Boulder made the decision to oppose the settlement agreement and continue to challenge the proposed rate increases while also asking the Public Utilities Commission if the proposed equity return is even "necessary or appropriate."
According to the release, the decision was reached largely due to concerns from Boulder community members expressed in written public comment along with feedback gathered from community engagement with the Public Utilities Commission.
As stated in the release, many within the Boulder community continue to struggle with impacts of utility costs and therefore it is the city's belief that the Public Utilities Commission should be taking the public's concerns more seriously while deciding whether to accept the settlement.
"We appreciate the parties to this case, including the commission staff and Office of Utility Consumer Advocates for their hard work to reach this settlement," said Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett in a statement. "However, we must end the practice of rate increases that don't fully consider the impact to community members, particularly those who have a high energy burden. We also need to make sure that if customers are asked to pay more, those investments prioritize safety, reliability and a clean energy future."
In the release, Jonathan Koehn, director of climate initiatives for the city, stated that energy affordability is at the "heart of the city's position in this case."
"This case has seen a record number of letters from people struggling with rising energy costs — many from Boulder community members," stated Koehn. "City staff take representing our community very seriously. As such, we couldn't join a settlement that will still raise costs, especially considering the drivers of the increase in this case."