Which to no one’s surprise Boulder disputes…
Carr (boulder city attorney – Ed) responded that Xcel is misinterpreting the law, and Boulder believes the state constitution clearly gives it the authority to acquire property outside its boundaries and operate utilities there. Boulder already serves water and sewer customers in the unincorporated county.
The state constitution says that a home rule city “shall have the power, within or without its territorial limits, to construct, condemn and purchase, purchase, acquire, lease, add to, maintain, conduct, and operate water works, light plants, power plants, transportation systems, heating plants, and any other public utilities or works or ways.”
That’s quite a lot of power to give the City of Boulder mothership. Perhaps they should worry more about maintaining their roads and clearing the streets. See the words “Transportation systems”?
Not to mention that at least the City of Boulder residents voted, barely, to proceed down the municipalization path. The 5000+ county residents apparently get no say in the matter and get to “come along for the ride” whether they like it or not. What’s not to like about that? Have the county commissioners been speaking up about this?
Xcel’s point is…
In a letter to Carr, Xcel officials said that under Colorado law, geographic areas outside the incorporated city limits are subject to the jurisdiction of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
“The CPUC has already granted Public Service the right to serve the areas outside the City of Boulder that the City contemplates serving in its February 26 report,” the letter said. “Public Service will not relinquish its right to serve these customers.”
The City of Boulder’s screw job of the affected County residents contineus. Go get’m Xcel.
If you listen to Stanley Kurtz, this all makes some sense. The progressives are pursuing a policy of “regionalism” where future policies favor urban areas, and are designed to starve out outlying areas, like suburbs, so as to concentrate the population in the cities. This, they believe, will allow them to redistribute wealth more efficiently. I’ve heard Tammy Bruce, a former progressive, say as well that it will allow the liberal establishment to better control the political opposition, since their long-term goal behind controlling energy is to control transportation, and therefor where people can and can’t go.