Xcel: Boulder misinterprets case law on utility issueDec 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - By Erica MeltzerCamera Staff Writer Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.Boulder has misinterpreted decades of case law that gives the Public Utilities Commission broad jurisdiction to regulate municipal utilities operations outside city limits, attorneys for Xcel Energy said in a response to Boulder's request that the PUC reconsider an earlier decision seen by many as favoring the utility. Boulder's plans for a future municipal utility call for the city to condemn two substations located in unincorporated Boulder County that serve both city and county areas, mostly in Gunbarrel and unincorporated enclaves in north Boulder, as well as the associated distribution system and a high-voltage transmission loop around the city. The Public Utilities commission ruled in October that Boulder would have to show that Xcel is unable and unwilling to serve those customers before condemning those assets. The PUC also said it has jurisdiction over the condemnation of the substations and the transmission loop because that infrastructure affects regional reliability. Last month, Boulder filed an application for re-hearing and argued that the ruling was "overly broad" and answered questions outside the scope of the case before it.Boulder attorneys said the Colorado constitution gives home rule cities broad powers to acquire property by eminent domain, including utility infrastructure outside city limits.They said the PUC's decision would require them to go through a regulatory proceeding before even knowing for sure which assets they want to condemn. In a response filed Tuesday, Xcel Energy attorney Paula Connelly said Boulder relied on case law from early in the development of public utilities, when electricity provision was an entirely local matter. Later case law clarified that the PUC has jurisdiction over municipal utilities that seek to serve customers outside city limits, the filing said. "Since that time, the Colorado Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed this Commission's jurisdiction in all matters not strictly involving service by a municipal utility to its own customers," Xcel said in its response. Xcel said the PUC ruling doesn't stop Boulder from trying to acquire assets it wants. However, it protects non-city customers. "Boulder's position that this Commission has no say regarding the facilitiesthat Boulder may condemn would turn the regulatory structure in Colorado on its head and make every customer not located in Boulder and every utility that receives support from the Public Service system subservient to the unchecked desires of Boulder," the filing said. The PUC is scheduled to make a decision on Boulder's request at its meeting Wednesday. No oral arguments are scheduled, and the commission is expected to make a decision based on the written filings. Boulder spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the city stands by its legal arguments. "The city believes we made strong arguments in our request for reconsideration, and we look forward to the PUC's decision," she said. Contact Camera Staff Writer Erica Meltzer at 303-473-1355, meltzere@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan |