Monday, June 8, 2026, 1:30 p.m. (Denver time), City & County Building, Council Committee Room, Room 391 1437 Bannock Street
Committee: Budget and Policy Committee
The Budget and Policy Committee held an informational session on the Xcel Energy franchise agreement and the companion Energy Partnership Agreement, presented by city climate office staff, the mayor's office, and Xcel Energy representatives. Staff described a working group and community engagement process launched after the agreement was not referred to the ballot the prior year, and said negotiations on the Energy Partnership Agreement continue, with a goal of finalizing it before returning to the Governance Committee on June 30 and referring the franchise agreement to the November 2026 ballot. Council members asked questions about substation siting and beautification, shareholder contributions, energy assistance, planned outage communications, accountability mechanisms, and the future removal of gas lines. No votes were taken; the item was information only.
0:07 Welcome back to this biweekly
0:08 Committee of Denver City
0:08 meeting of Budget Impasse.
0:14 Council. As for the
0:18 discussion, Budget and Policy
0:21 Committee starts now.
0:27 And we are here at the Budget
0:28 Policy Committee. My name is
0:30 Diana Romero, Campbell, and
0:32 let's go ahead and get started
0:35 with start with council
0:35 members online. Becomes
0:40 members online. That good
0:41 afternoon, Amanda Sawyer
0:46 District 5. It would you like
0:48 us to start in the room now?
0:51 So she was our only window.
0:54 Yes, but please start to.
1:02 Takes like District 7 5, you
1:02 have watch and fine Monday for
1:06 most 6. Want as one of your
1:09 consumers at We resigns.
1:14 Denver's for everyone. Kevin
1:14 Flynn, Southwest numbers
1:20 District. Is a district
1:25 district pulling the was just
1:26 wonderful and again, my name
1:27 is Diana Romero. Campbell's
1:31 Denver District. 4. We have
1:33 Excel franchise agreement
1:36 presentation today we'll be
1:41 starting us off. I have city.
1:42 Starting we do need a moment
1:45 them. The moment there. Okay.
1:47 Hold, please. We're just going
1:48 to take a moment as everybody
1:51 get set
1:58 We will start just a minute.
2:09 We'll look sure. Florida. So
2:14 group and though.
2:45 It's it's going court when you
2:48 can
3:06 I saw It time get year. Have
3:08 you settle in and have you
3:09 introduce yourselves when you
3:14 are ready to go. Well, go
3:16 first. This time Jonathan
3:17 Rogers said call me Tony and
3:18 deputy executive director
3:19 Evers Office of Climate
3:23 Action. Sustainability and
3:25 Resiliency in Shannon,
3:25 different deputy project
3:26 scientist and send you them
3:29 chief operating dominant
3:38 combined. The present in
3:43 online with you introduce
3:47 yourself at he's just think
3:48 right. I think we're going to
3:48 go ahead and get started. He's
3:50 not online yet.
4:01 What we are here today to come
4:02 back for an update on the
4:05 Excel franchise agreement.
4:06 This is just an info item
4:07 today. You'll see us again on
4:10 the 30th. I governance
4:11 committee. So we wanted to
4:13 provide an update. We have our
4:16 partners from excel on their
4:19 way. They're also thanks.
4:20 We're coming right off of the
4:21 working group meeting. So that
4:22 all by. We came in a little
4:24 bit late and MAY even have
4:25 some members from our working
4:26 group. You're actually don't
4:28 see them. So apologies for the
4:32 delay. We are back to share
4:34 what we've been up to over the
4:35 last year. Last Aust formally
4:38 in AUGUST. A lot of what we
4:41 heard in those conversations
4:43 desire that we have far more
4:45 community outreach in council
4:46 outreach. And as we talk about
4:48 the franchise agreement its 20
4:49 year, agree with that. We
4:50 would like to have referred to
4:51 the ballot for the NOVEMBER
4:55 election. So what we want to
4:56 talk about is the work that
5:01 we've been doing sense we have
5:02 launched a working group and
5:03 have had 2 of your colleagues
5:06 as part of that working
5:08 counseling, parity and
5:13 counseling and we have varied
5:14 group of members that
5:17 represent different facets of
5:18 the community from
5:19 representatives the dog. He
5:21 advise Regroup desk has or
5:23 sustainability council as well
5:25 as representatives from the
5:26 Affordable Housing community
5:28 for double housing developers,
5:30 Labor, Environmental justice,
5:31 kind of across the board. We
5:36 tried to look and various
5:39 interests perspectives,
5:39 familiarity with that, the pc
5:40 process and otherwise. And we
5:45 have had a robust working your
5:46 conversations since JANUARY
5:48 late. I think FEBRUARY's when
5:50 we officially launched. So
5:51 it's been several meetings in
5:52 grand meeting 7 or 8 at this
5:54 point. We've been diving deep
5:56 into the Energy Partnership
5:58 agreement Accel as well. And
6:00 they'll be here just up at the
6:01 out the way and create some
6:01 table will probably maybe move
6:04 space for you all. They have
6:05 also initiated a city wide
6:07 community engagement process
6:09 across the city, including a
6:13 variety Reno presentations and
6:14 stakeholder group outreach,
6:16 phone calls, conversations
6:17 with this body as well. We
6:20 have also had breathing so
6:21 this body just had a listening
6:21 tour across the city and
6:22 they'll tell you a little bit
6:24 about what they heard and what
6:27 that has led at the company.
6:28 So for us, a lot of the focus
6:29 of our conversation has been
6:31 around the Energy Partnership
6:33 was I've known as the d to get
6:33 agreement and that last year
6:35 had a couple of different
6:39 iterations over time. But we
6:39 think that the Energy
6:42 Partnership agreement is a
6:45 great name to really signified
6:46 that working relationship
6:47 between the city and excel
6:49 over time and really
6:50 encapsulate the city's energy
6:50 goals and how we will work
6:52 together with the company to
6:54 achieve them over time. It's
6:57 really focused on 3 things.
6:58 Affordability, sustainability
6:58 and reliability, which we know
7:01 are important too. Our
7:02 citizens and the folks that
7:06 are within that that covered
7:09 touched by the franchise as
7:10 well. Largely what we've
7:11 talked about and heard from
7:13 the community our working
7:16 Sessions are these 5 things
7:17 listed that are really the
7:19 priorities that they want to
7:20 see in that franchise
7:21 agreement. Excuse me, in the
7:22 companion agreement, the
7:25 Energy Partnership Agreement
7:25 and we are currently still in
7:27 negotiations with excel. So
7:29 you'll see a couple of points
7:29 throughout the presentation
7:30 where there's a little thought
7:32 bubble. And that's because we
7:36 are deadly working at the
7:36 table exchange red lines and
7:37 going back and forth. Our goal
7:38 is to have that finalized for
7:41 you. By the time we come back
7:41 to committee in late JUNE. But
7:42 at this point will call those
7:45 items out as we get to them.
7:47 But it's really focused around
7:48 shareholder contributions.
7:52 Energy assistance support
7:54 pilots and the way that we
7:55 involve disagreement over time
7:56 writes a 20 year agreement.
7:58 It's incredibly long. And if
7:59 you think back to 2007 when
8:02 this agreement was signed and
8:03 approved last time around, we
8:03 were a very different city we
8:05 have very different
8:07 conversations and we expect
8:07 that's going to be the truth
8:10 between now and 2042 at the
8:13 end of this next iteration,
8:14 substation design. We know
8:17 that's deeply important to our
8:19 communities and how they co
8:20 exist with these spaces that
8:20 are so important to making
8:23 sure that we're moving forward
8:24 and that they are providing
8:25 that electrification that we
8:27 know we want to pursue. But it
8:28 also fits into the context in
8:30 character of those
8:30 communities. I'm how folks
8:34 interact with them every day.
8:35 And then finally reporting and
8:36 transparency, which is a lot
8:38 of why we're back. There
8:38 wasn't a lot of transparency
8:41 around this last iteration. We
8:42 came to in JULY and AUGUST of
8:45 last year. We feel like that
8:46 quite different. And we want
8:48 to continue that trend
8:49 throughout the life of the
8:50 agreement so that the next
8:52 time you hear about it is not
8:53 not. Hopefully none of us are
8:53 sitting around this table in
8:57 2042. Talking about it. Maybe
9:00 I will be I don't But along
9:01 the way for as long as we all
9:03 are and as long as this
9:04 agreements in place, we want
9:04 to make sure that it's clear
9:05 that we are achieving our
9:06 goals and how we're getting
9:10 there and have form for
9:12 conversation, but also
9:14 accountability. Both between
9:14 us and our goal is that the
9:17 that's I a change moving
9:17 city and the company. So
9:22 forward. So I'm going to kind
9:23 of toss around microphone to
9:24 different members of our team
9:26 and we're going to start with
9:27 really what most of the
9:28 conversation has been around
9:29 over the last few months. And
9:30 that's Energy Partnership
9:32 agreement. And John is going
9:33 Hurt. Thank you, City. Thank
9:34 you, councilmembers. Great to
9:37 see you all. So Cindy
9:39 mentioned, this was originally
9:41 energy and infrastructure
9:44 agreement to refer to a study
9:46 last We have rebranded as the
9:47 Energy Partnership Agreement
9:48 really reflecting what this
9:49 is, you partnership over the
9:52 next 20 years as we look
9:55 towards really providing that
9:56 affordable, reliable and
9:59 pollution-free energy future
10:00 for Denver writes beyond with
10:02 the system that were connected
10:05 to there's been substantial
10:07 movement across the board on
10:11 this agreement and we believe
10:12 goers during an what is gold
10:14 standard that community
10:15 utility partnership and the
10:15 Standard franchisee in
10:17 Colorado does not have an
10:20 agreement like this the city.
10:22 But boulder who exerting the
10:23 maximum leverage that one can
10:24 by walking away and funding
10:25 for municipal as Asian for 10
10:27 years and spending 10's of
10:28 millions of taxpayer dollars
10:32 in the process it up with, you
10:32 know, a handful of items. But
10:35 we really see items that go
10:36 over the course of the next 20
10:37 years going to be looking at
10:39 how do we achieve Denver
10:41 schools where we are a
10:43 national leader, one of only 8
10:44 leed Platinum cities in the
10:47 entire How do we achieve the
10:48 nation leading state targets
10:50 that we have to get to 0
10:51 greenhouse gas emissions as
10:52 quickly and equitably as
10:54 possible. And we are fortunate
10:56 to have a utility partner.
10:59 That is a national leader with
11:00 electric rates that are 37%
11:03 below the national average and
11:04 approved plans at the Public
11:05 Utilities Commission to get us
11:07 to an 88% reduction in carbon
11:11 emissions by 2030. So right
11:12 around the corner and because
11:14 there is work to be done, we
11:15 need our staff to be together.
11:16 That's what the original
11:17 conception of this agreement
11:18 was really focusing on that
11:21 staff to staff relationship on
11:22 system planning. What
11:23 infrastructure do we need? The
11:26 energy and infrastructure
11:27 agreement. But we've since
11:30 expanded to make sure that we
11:30 are cognizant of additional
11:31 that community concerns. And,
11:32 you know, the holistic
11:36 objectives that we do that's
11:37 where the that the increased
11:39 touch points for reporting
11:40 back to elected leadership
11:44 meeting with our various
11:46 advisory committees. Well, one
11:47 specifically that developed as
11:50 part of this group as well as
11:51 leaning on existing groups
11:54 such as casters Sustainability
11:55 Advisory Council and those of
11:56 other city agencies. We can
11:58 make sure that we're bringing
12:00 diverse perspectives all of
12:01 the work that will be
12:01 shepherding on behalf of
12:04 taxpayers and ratepayers.
12:06 We'll also be the only
12:07 community in the state who
12:08 sets up a public dashboard
12:11 hosted on the city's website.
12:12 Really be able to point out,
12:13 hey, what are the priority
12:14 initiatives? What's the goal
12:15 that we're trying are the
12:16 problem that we're trying to
12:18 solve is their funding
12:19 associated with this? Is there
12:20 a timeline or their additional
12:21 touch points? How do we know
12:24 if worked and what we do next?
12:25 So making sure that we really
12:26 lean into that spirit of
12:29 transparency. We've worked
12:31 with our working group members
12:33 to really look through this
12:34 new community advisory
12:35 committee that will be
12:36 created. But in this agreement
12:38 to ensure that it has
12:39 representation from the
12:42 diversity of stakeholder
12:45 groups, as you know, labor,
12:46 nonprofit groups,
12:47 environmental or advocates,
12:51 business districts and other
12:53 constituencies that we think
12:54 have an important voice
12:55 related to this particular
12:59 agreement and relationship. No
13:01 scene of the middle of the
13:03 chart, the data sharing and
13:05 access to utility system
13:07 information. This was a
13:07 frequent point of the
13:11 conversation last fall. The
13:13 reason why there's an asterisk
13:14 on Boulder's because they have
13:16 a lot of things written into
13:19 agreement and the very
13:19 their energy partnership
13:20 reasonable question get asked
13:21 is why doesn't Denver also get
13:22 those things reason why we
13:24 have a dash of theirs? But as
13:26 we do have access to those
13:28 things, we get access through
13:28 our participation that the
13:30 Public Utilities Commission
13:32 right now, we know the exact
13:34 location diameter and material
13:37 of every gas lines serving in
13:39 Denver, customer. We know how
13:41 much electricity flows on
13:42 through our wires, through our
13:43 transformers, through our
13:45 substations, how close they
13:46 are to reading that reaching
13:46 some capacity threshold where
13:48 they might require an upgrade
13:49 and then we're able to show up
13:51 in the appropriate proceedings
13:53 can help advocate for the
13:54 decision makers at the Public
13:56 Utilities Commission to make
13:59 sure that can. We avoid
13:59 replacing that 60 or 80
14:03 year-old gas line and one of
14:04 our communities or expand our
14:06 dependence on fossil fuels and
14:08 support electrifying that
14:12 customers across Denver and
14:12 making sure that when someone
14:14 submits request for energy or
14:17 a new capacity that they don't
14:18 get denied are told they're
14:20 going to have to you know,
14:23 multiple years for that and
14:25 that's where our relationship
14:27 is going to be. Go really
14:28 strong and continue to We've
14:29 got a great starting point on
14:31 data access. We think there
14:31 are some opportunities for
14:33 improvement and we've been
14:36 over the past legislative
14:36 session speaking with not only
14:41 the company, but Colorado
14:42 communities for climate
14:43 action, other specific
14:46 communities such as Boulder
14:47 and the elected officials at
14:48 the state House MAY look at
14:50 how do we ensure that
14:51 information that they need so
14:51 communities get access to the
14:53 that they can be a true
14:55 partner and these processees
14:58 and help terms of the system
15:01 how it grows and changes over
15:03 time. Now we get into the
15:05 comment Bubbles where
15:06 conceptually we've identified
15:09 the issues. We haven't exactly