Xcel's 20-year Denver franchise is winning easily, a year after the Council kept it off the ballot
Question 2K had about 69% yes in early, unofficial returns. In 2025 an earlier version died on a 6-7 Council vote; this year four members switched.
Denver voters were approving a new 20-year franchise for Xcel Energy by a wide margin Tuesday night. Question 2K had 69.12% yes in early returns, the Denver Gazette reported in a story last updated at 8:34 p.m. Axios Denver had it at 69% as of 10 p.m.
Why it matters: the franchise is the deal that lets Xcel's Public Service Company of Colorado run gas and electric lines under Denver's streets. Denver's current agreement expires Dec. 31. The city collects a 3% franchise fee on bills, about $30 million a year, and customers would have kept paying it even if 2K failed, the Gazette reported in September. The new agreement would start Jan. 1, 2027, 5280 noted.
All results here are unofficial. The Denver Elections Division keeps counting ballots, including ones that voters cure after signature problems, and audits continue until certification and canvass on Nov. 24, according to the Elections Division. Current numbers are on the city's results page.
What our records add: how it got to the ballot
2025: one vote short. On Aug. 11, 2025, a bill to send an earlier franchise to voters failed 6-7 (25-0922, roll call).
- No (7): Flor Alvidrez, Stacie Gilmore, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Chris Hinds, Paul Kashmann, Shontel Lewis, Sarah Parady
- Yes (6): Kevin Flynn, Diana Romero Campbell, Amanda Sandoval, Amanda Sawyer, Jamie Torres, Darrell Watson
Members who voted no said they wanted time to rework the agreement and gather public input, Denverite reported.
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2026: 10-2. This year's referral, 26-0970, passed July 27, 2026. Lewis and Parady voted no; Gilmore was absent (Legistar). Four members who voted no in 2025 voted yes: Alvidrez, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Hinds and Kashmann. Our records show the switch, not the reasons.
The package. The same night, the Council approved a separate "Denver Energy Partnership Agreement" with Xcel's Public Service Company, by the same 10-2 vote (26-0973, Legistar). That agreement was not on the ballot. Our earlier story has more on both, and we also looked at the campaign's ads and the city's undergrounding fund.
What 2K doesn't settle. A state Public Utilities Commission spokesperson told the Gazette that a utility keeps the legal right and obligation to serve a city in its territory, so a no vote would not have ended Xcel service.
Where else the city and Xcel meet
The Council opposed statewide Amendment 82, on a constitutional right to buy and sell natural gas, in an Oct. 26 proclamation (26-1539). Amendment 82 was failing in early statewide returns; see our story on the statewide measures.
What's next
- Nov. 24: Results are certified.
- Jan. 1, 2027: The new franchise would take effect, replacing the one that expires Dec. 31.
- The energy partnership agreement's projects come back to the Council as contracts and budget items; we'll track them on our legislation page.