6.1. ERMUSR STAFF UPDATES 11-15-2011

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Voters in Boulder, Colo., approve ballot measures that could lead to a new public power u... Page 1 of 2 Public Power Ouily Tbunday, November 3, 2°11 Voters in Boulder, Colo., approve ballot measures that could lead to a new public power utility Public power may be coming to Boulder, Colo. Residents of the Colorado community on Nov. 1 approved two ballot measures that will allow the city to continue to explore the possibility of purchasing Xcel Energy's distribution system and forming a city-owned electric utility. Ballot measure 2C, which authorizes the creation of such a utility if customer rates would be the same as those Xcel Energy is charging at the time of acquisition, passed with 51.78% of the total vote. A companion measure, 2B, provides the funding necessary to determine the actual costs of buying Xcel's system and starting a local utility. It passed with support from 50.27% of voters, the city said. While the margins are narrow, the city attorney said the results are not close enough, as defined in local statutes, to trigger an automatic recount. Xcel spent about $950,000 to fight the measures, while supporters spent about $87,500, according to the local newspaper, the Daily Camera. The total spent so far makes the fight over these ballot measures the most expensive political issue in Boulder's history, the newspaper said. "This vote shows, once again, that the Boulder community wants to chart a new course -one that makes cleaner energy a priority while also taking into account other core values, such as rates, reliability and a desire for more control," said City Manager Jane S. Brautigam. "We need to recognize, however, that this was a close decision. There aze still a lot of questions and concerns that we need to address. The city is committed to moving forward in a deliberate, but measured, thoughtful and inclusive way." The impetus behind this particular effort to create a municipal utility appears to be driven in large part by a desire for cleaner, more renewable sources of energy. A telephone survey this summer found that Boulder voters support creation of a city-owned electric utility by a wide margin and that residents overwhelmingly want a reduction in carbon emissions. Seventy-one percent of survey respondents said they support municipalization and said they thought the city would be better than Xcel Energy at offering renewable sources of energy and at reducing carbon emissions. A smaller, but majority, percentage (57%) thought the city would do a better job than Xcel Energy at finding innovative solutions to energy problems. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said they would support an increase of between 5% and "as much as it takes" in their monthly electric bills to reduce carbon emissions and/or increase renewable sources of energy. (See the Aup. 22 Public Power Daily.) The vote in favor of the ballot measures "does not mean that municipalization is imminent," the city said in a press release. "A decision about whether to form a local electric utility has yet to be made." http://www.naylometwork.com/app-ppd/articles/print-V2.asp?aid=158485 11/7/2011