Committee refers Xcel franchise agreement to ballot amid calls for clearer low-income, remediation and data commitments

The Finance & Governance Committee on July 8 voted to refer to the full City Council a negotiated 20-year franchise agreement with Public Service Company of Colorado (d/b/a Xcel Energy) that would begin Jan. 1, 2027, if approved by voters and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

City and Xcel negotiators presented the draft agreement as a right-of-way franchise that preserves three core, voter-facing benefits from the prior arrangement: (1) the utility’s obligation to relocate infrastructure for public projects so project budgets are not borne by the city, (2) a 3% franchise fee that goes to the city’s general fund and (3) a 1% set-aside for undergrounding transmission lines. City staff said the revised package streamlines multiple prior documents and creates a new Denver Development Innovation Group (DDIG) to coordinate future energy and development work between the city and Xcel.

Grace Lopez Ramirez, Xcel’s local government and community affairs representative, detailed corporate and foundation investments to Denver-area nonprofits and programs. Xcel said it spent foundation and program dollars in the city and county of Denver in 2024 and cited partnerships with Energy Outreach Colorado and local…