When Denver voters head to the polls for Tuesday’s primary, they will also be voting on a 20-year franchise agreement with Xcel Energy.
The agreement has won praise from city officials and environmentalist alike. And it has no formal opposition.
When he announced the plan in April, Mayor John Hickenlooper called the Xcel agreement “one of the more important contracts the city will negotiate.”
The mayor said his staff negotiated with that weight in mind.
“We have tried to bring every aspect and every agency of the city and tried to make sure we looked at their issues and how it is affecting them,” he said.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at any of Denver’s 47 “vote centers.” Unaffiliated voters can vote on the Xcel agreement.
If the franchise agreement passes, Denver residents would see their electric and gas bills go up 75 cents a month – or $9 a year – to help pay the utility bills of low-income residents.
It also has provisions for more use of renewable energy – including a $200,000 contribution toward a proposed municipal solar-power plant and an agreement to purchase hydroelectric power from the Denver Water Board.
Currently, Denver’s franchise fee generates $22 million for the city’s general fund. The money comes from a 3 percent fee each utility customer pays on their energy bill.
But the current fee does not apply to the first $12.50 on the bill as part of a break for low-income users – though it applies across the board.
Under the proposed agreement, that break would go away, but the $2.1 million generated by the extra charges would go to a low-income assistance fund.
The mayor’s chief of staff and City Attorney Cole Finegan said he was confident in the deal.
“We believe this franchise agreement is a very good deal for the citizens of Denver.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-820-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
