Broomfield's Xcel Energy Franchise, 2028 Through 2048
Utility franchise
Approves Xcel's franchise under Ordinance No. 2307. The ballot calls it twenty years from January 1, 2028; the attached agreement ends December 31, 2048, a span of twenty-one calendar years.
City and County of Broomfield
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Broomfield Ballot Question No. 1B
A yes vote keeps a three percent charge on the gas and electricity Xcel sells in Broomfield in place through December 31, 2048. Xcel collects it on customers' bills where the law requires, and city staff report that the fee "averages $3.25-3.5M annually" for the General Fund. I oppose funding general city spending with a charge on a household necessity.
Xcel has no right to end the franchise. The city's receipts rise when the revenues counted for the fee rise. My standard is limited government, and a charge on utility bills that grows with those revenues and funds general city spending moves city government the other way.
I recommend a no vote on Broomfield Ballot Question No. 1B.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
Shall the City and County of Broomfield approve the terms of a twenty-year franchise contract, starting January 1, 2028, with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) to continue Xcel's program for undergrounding overhead electrical lines, maintaining infrastructure safety and partnering with the City for emergency management coordination, and to require that Xcel Energy continue to pay to the City for reasonable use of public rights-of-way and other City property necessary to provide safe and reliable utility services for the benefit of the City, its residents and its businesses as set forth in Ordinance No. 2307?
A yes vote means
Broomfield would approve the franchise with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) under Ordinance No. 2307. The ballot says twenty years from January 1, 2028, but the attached agreement specifies December 31, 2048 as its end date.
A no vote means
The franchise would not be approved on these terms.
Voters Decide Every Franchise01
Question 1B asks Broomfield voters to approve the terms of a twenty-year gas and electric franchise with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy). The City Council approved Ordinance No. 2307, which sets the question and the franchise agreement, on second reading on July 7, 2026. The city charter grants no franchise without approval by a majority of the voters who vote on it. The ballot calls this a twenty-year franchise starting January 1, 2028. Section 2.3 of the proposed agreement instead gives an end date of December 31, 2048, unless extended by mutual consent. Those dates span twenty-one calendar years. The current Xcel franchise, which voters approved in 2007, expires December 31, 2027.
United Power, the other utility serving Broomfield, holds a separate franchise that also expires at the end of 2027.
How the Franchise Fee Works02
Section 4.1 sets the fee at 3% of defined Gross Revenues from gas and electricity sales and gas transportation to customers in Broomfield. That base is adjusted for refunds, uncollectible accounts, corrections, expense reimbursements and regulatory adjustments, and excludes service to the City. The City is also exempt from the fee on its own utility use unless it directs otherwise in writing under company policy. "To the extent required by law," Xcel collects the fee through a surcharge on city residents who are its customers. Under the current franchise, staff wrote, Xcel "collects a 3% fee on each consumer bill," and the fee "averages $3.25-3.5M annually" for the General Fund. The new agreement keeps the 3% rate. Section 6.9 has Xcel move its lines at no cost to the city when a public project needs the space. The amount the city receives rises and falls with the adjusted customer revenues counted for the fee; revenue from service to the City is excluded.
Staff wrote that the agreement does not set utility rates, which Xcel proposes and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approves.
Burying Overhead Power Lines03
Section 12.2 requires Xcel to budget 1% of the preceding year's electric Gross Revenues for requested underground conversions. A project must have enough space, avoid ground-mounted equipment in a floodplain, impose no conversion costs on end users, have all City permits, and be reasonably found constructable by Xcel. Under the current agreement, staff wrote, the program averages "$679,000 per year."
When the Franchise Ends04
Xcel has no right to terminate the franchise. The City may end the franchise for an unremedied material breach. The agreement separately recognizes the City's right to run a municipal utility. Buying or condemning Xcel's facilities requires at least one year's prior written notice. If the franchise lapses, Xcel keeps serving the city, unless the Public Utilities Commission orders otherwise, until the city arranges another provider. Staff warned that rejecting renewal would mean the City no longer receives the 3% franchise fee. The proposed agreement has a different rule for its own later expiration or termination: while Xcel continues serving the City, Section 17.2 requires compensation equal to the franchise fee, subject to the City's compliance with applicable law.
Broomfield Ordinance No. 2307 (second reading July 7, 2026) approves a gas and electric franchise agreement with Public Service Company of Colorado and refers a twenty-year franchise question to the November 3, 2026 ballot, effective January 1, 2028 if approved.
Broomfield City Council's July 7, 2026 special meeting packet contains the staff memo, Ordinance No. 2307 (second reading) with the ballot question text, and the full proposed gas and electric franchise agreement with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel).
