Thread by @shayshinecastle

I'm in #Boulder's muni update Zoom, which includes some Xcel officials. I might tweet some things bc that's what I do.

It's being facilitated by Heather Bergman, my favorite person who I've actually never met. I think a good test of character for people should be: Do they like Heather Bergman?

Everyone who doesn't is cancelled.

Mayor Weaver and pro tem Yates are giving updates; then Xcel's Alice Jackson will provide the company's perspective (what's largely been missing from public forum, bc I can't get an interview and they are never at council meetings).

Then public comments/questions. There are too many ppl signed up for the time we have, Bergman says.

Oh, yeah, I forgot Steve Catanach, climate initiative director, who is starting it off.

Oh, geezus, this graphic.

It's chaotic. I miss the boring government graphs and charts.

"One man's waste could be another man's treasure," Catanach says. Not sure how this pertains to energy.... I think he's going over all the city's climate plans, which includes waste reduction and increased reuse of materials.

"Land use is a component" of the process, Catanach says.

That's new; in past plans, land use has been rarely mentioned, if at all.

Yes, I see it now on the graphic: "Compact development"
Left side.

#Boulder goals:
100% renewable electricity by 2030
80% emissions reduction by 2050
Increased local renewable generation (175 mw by 2050)

Sassy Sam Weaver taking over.
He's been decidedly less sassy since becoming Mayor. I guess he has to be professional.

Weaver: "The reason we start with electricity is that emission from electricity system as it sits today are biggest component of Boulder's carbon footprint."

True, bc we don't count emissions caused by in-commuting.

Although since we don't count those, idk if that would make transportation the top contributor or not. With 64,900 in-commuters each day (normally) I think it would be significant.

Weaver going over the history of Yates and Xcel's Jackson agreeing to meet and chat muni. Weaver was looped in later. That begat city negotiations.

Timeline: Yates and Jackson started talking last summer.
Weaver joined in January.
Negotiations started in earnest in April.

Jackson "assured me" that Xcel's plans for carbon reduction were "well formed," Weaver says. "I was skeptical."

Pilot projects might happen at the old hospital site on Alpine Balsam, Weaver says. It was talked about with Xcel in negotiations.

Weaver: "This was a staff process."

Jackson, Yates "and I were there to make sure each organization understood the other," Weaver says.

Weaver: "(Yates) and I heard this offer (to enter into settlement talks)... I don't think we reacted in any (inaudible) way"

"That's more or less the story of how we got to where we are. The city has committed to discussing arrangements with Xcel."

What's different form 2016/2017 negotiations?
Changes in state energy laws, requirements
Willingness from Xcel to let Boulder get involved in distribution planning

And Xcel's willingness to let Boulder look at the company's plan to meet 2030 carbon goals

Weaver: "We have started this process. As soon as we realized there were probably subjects to be discussed that were different than in 2016/2017, we daylighted the process to the community."

Yates: "After Xcel invited city to re-engage in settlement discussions, city manager invited Weaver and me to participate ... so that we could share what we believe the desires and values of the community would be."

"Nothing has been agreed to yet," Yates says. "We all want to hear what the community thinks is important."

Community will raise points that staff already has, Yates says, but "undoubtedly" new ideas will surface, too.

There are 6 key elements of an agreement:
Boulder needs to understand how Xcel will meet its 2030 climate goals. The company has to file those next years with state regulators, but city is getting an early look, under a non-disclosure agreement.

Second: Boulder needs greater input on grid planning

"A potential settlement should lay out" what input Boulder has in the future, Yates says.

Third: Reliability, including having power lines buried in the ground.

Half of the city's are still aerial.

Before muni stuff started 10 yrs ago, city was slowly doing that with $1M a year in funds from Xcel.

As part of any settlement, "we're probably going to want to ask Xcel to catch (us) up" on under grounding and continue to fund that going forward, Yates says.

Fourth: Xcel has to share info with Boulder
Fifth: Settlement would include 20-yr franchise agreement (subject to voter OK, per charter) with an opt-out at 5-yr intervals based on council or public vote

That's different bc state only requires opt-outs at 10 and 15 years, I believe. Per interview with Yates yesterday.

Finally, any settlement will not undue work on muni that has already been done. So if Boulder opts out of Xcel franchise in the future, "the city could pick up where it is today."

Those 6, while important, are not the "entire scope" of the settlement, Yates says.

There will be a July check-in with council on how negotiations are going. There will be a public hearing either act month or August before something is placed on the ballot.

Xcel's Jackson speaking now.

Jackson: "Now more than ever, our communities across Colorado and beyond ... are engaged and partnering with us to figure out how do we move forward?"

Three strategic principles guiding those decisions, Jackson says:
Keeping bills low
"Meeting customers where they are"
Lead the transition to clean energy

"That was a fundamental shift .... In 2018 when we made that announcement, it was a very Dif place from where we were in 2016/2017," Jackson says.

44% carbon reduction between 2019 and 2005, Jackson says.

Goal is zero-carbon system by 2050.

Jackson: "We're really feeling pretty comfortable about where (the plan) aligns with climate goals" and how realistic it is for the company.

"We gotta keep those lights on."

"Zero carbon on our system is the end goal."

Sorry these are just choppy quotes; Jackson talks fast.

"As we electrify more transportation, that means there's more energy that needs to be on the grid," Jackson says. How do we work with customers to put excess generation back on the grid?

"I think we have a really unique opportunity to partner with Boulder" bc of the interest the community has. We can figure out how do we bring more of these technologies on, so we can replicate that in other communities.

"It's a great pleasure" to work with you all here today, Jackson says. Looking forward to hearing from you directly.

Facilitator Bergman with an ask: Ppl have strong opinions. We can't hear from everyone. If you can defer your time to another session, please do. And keep it brief.

This is a 10-min q&a before we move to comment.
Steve Haymes up first.

"I'll try to word this as a clarifying question."

We're off to a *great* start.

I missed his question. It was about wind vs. solar in Xcel's system

60,000 residential customers in Colorado have solar, Jackson says. "There is space for more."

We've been doing special projects for battery storage, Jackson says. Over 700 MW of large-scale solar will be installed by 2026.

"Plenty of room to look at both wind and solar" Jackson says, to solve that "gap" of the last 20% in reductions before 2030.

Weaver: 100MW target is equivalent of 20MW generation source, on energy basis avg power output to supply Boulder's needs is 150MW.

If we hit that goal, it will end up being still a small overall fraction of energy.

I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense. Not an expert on these things. Barely a novice.

David Takahashi with another question that is kind of a comment. "The cheapest kilowatt hour is the one we do not use."

Weaver: "Efficiency is a huge part of the way we look at consumption. We have some of the toughest new building codes in the country."

Jackson also talking about building envelopes.
And "when ppl consume is really important."

What is Boulder's current energy mix? Andy Something asked (missed his last name)

That's dictated by Xcel, Weaver says.

Jackson: There's installed capacity vs. energy delivered
In 2019, energy delivered was:
30% from renewable (wind, solar, hydro)
Gas was 36%
Coal was 33%

Installed capacity: 34% renewables
Storage 3%
24% capacity from coal
36% capacity from gas
3% from "other — we don't know exactly what resources it comes from"

Moving into public comment. Patrick Murphy is up first.
He wants to know about timeline. "What would be the start date of Xcel" franchise agreement if voters OK. And what happens to utility occupation tax?

He wants to see it go to "local incentives" for carbon reduction, like LEDs.

Also wants to make sure council can't make the decisions: anything and everything should go to the voters, Murphy asks.

Scott Something has worked on the muni. "It's kinda sad to let it go." But "if we can make good progress ... we might want to take that for a little bit."

Crystal Gray: "Negotiations with Xcel. It seems premature to me."

Let's go through the court process first so Boulderites will know "the real cost."

Excellent metaphor from Chris Haymes (I think that's his last name; they're not showing up like usual) involving yo-yos, shoe tying and running.

"Re-engaging with Xcel is risky."

Andy Bingle (what a name): "I do think Xcel has proven to be a leader... given its size .... they have made bold commitments."

Wants to see a plan for storage. And real-time pricing for electricity or "other programs that go beyond" what Xcel is offering. "More engagement from Xcel would get more community buy-in."

Steve Something: "We're well on our way to escaping a monopoly" that stifles innovation and limits consumer choice.

Finally, I catch a full name: Pam Johnson

"V interested in the possibility of a franchise agreement," Johnson says.

We have a screamer.

Not quite to the level of LAPD caller the other night, but still loud and blood pressure-raising.

Steve Pomerance: "Xcel is in kind of a bind here, and so is Boulder."

Says CEO Jackson "is an improvement" over past leaders. lol.

"Boulder is the biggest threat to Xcel here ... There needs to be some citizens on the inside of this. The citizens motivation is to get our energy right. We have no claims other than that."

"We need to get what we want ... and the terms set up so that if this doesn't work out with Xcel, we're in a far better term to" do the muni. No claims for going concern, depreciated cost for acquiring system, under grounding for free, etc.

Leslie Glustrom to Xcel's Jackson: There's a lot that has happened that undermined our trust. Buying coal plants; Smart Grid city that doesn't work. Your response to our attempts to municipalize.

"Pay us to be your customer," Glustrom says. "We're worth it at $100+ million a year."

Rick or someone: Xcel is not leading the charge. That's other municipal utilities that are delivering more renewables for cheaper.

That guy was Ken. Last name Rickleson or something. Sorry I'm not catching these names; there's usually a printed list or they're displayed on the screen.

I think I'm hitting my limit. Only 8 more min, tho, so I'll keep listening and tweet anything pertinent.

Steve Whitaker: We need to eliminate the 120% rule for ppl generating their own electricity. And we need 100% renewable by 2030; others can do it. Why not Xcel?

Maybe Ken's last name was Riggleson? I'm 98% sure of that.

Mayor Weaver back up: "This conversation has been going on for a couple decades, at least. This has all been driven by the community. ... Xcel has probably learned some things today."

Thanks community for "expertise and passion" and encourages them to stay engaged. Electricity is the biggest source of carbon in our city's footprint, he says.

Again, technically true. But we don't count in-commuter vehicle emissions.

OK, Bergman wrapping up and reminding NEW ppl to weigh in. There's another one of these on June 10 at 5 or 5:30 to 7 p.m.

@threadreaderapp please unroll. Thank you!