Glendale decides whether to grant Xcel Energy a utility franchise from 2028 through 2048

Public Service Company of Colorado, which does business as Xcel Energy, holds a franchise in Glendale that the city says expires on December 31, 2027. Question 2B would grant a new franchise from January 1, 2028 to December 31, 2048, a term of 21 calendar years.

The city charter allows a public utility franchise to be granted only by ordinance and only with a majority vote of the city's electors. Ordinance No. 2, Series of 2026, was on the City Council's July 7 agenda for introduction; its title says it grants the franchise "Subject To Voter Approval" and submits the question "To The Registered Electors Of The City Of Glendale" at the November 3 election. The Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle reported that the council voted unanimously on August 4 to send the agreement to voters.

The question would give the company the right to provide utility service to the city and its residents, and to acquire, purchase, build, install, locate, maintain, operate and extend "ALL COMPANY FACILITIES REASONABLY NECESSARY" for purposes that include the generation, sale, storage, transmission and distribution of utility service within and through Glendale. The city says the agreement governs how Xcel may use public rights-of-way, utility easements and other city property to install, maintain and repair the lines that deliver electricity and natural gas. It also covers coordination on public construction projects and the operation of streetlights and traffic signals.

The city calls the right non-exclusive, and the charter states, "No exclusive franchises shall be granted." The charter lets the city, except as Colorado law provides otherwise, repeal a franchise for inadequate service, misuse, nonuse or failure to comply with its terms, and buy the utility's property and plant at a fair valuation.

The city says the agreement does not set utility rates or what Xcel bills its customers. Utilities propose rates, and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission approves them. The question sets no tax rate and authorizes no debt.

According to the city, the proposed agreement "does not change the 3% franchise fee." The city says the fee compensates Glendale for the utility's use of public rights-of-way, that it is "established by Glendale City Council," and that Xcel collects it from customers and remits all of it to the city. The charter requires every franchise grant to fix the amount of the fee, and it bars any other compensation for that use during the life of the franchise. The city lists "General Fund revenue support through the franchise fee" first among the agreement's benefits. The city's summary does not say how much the fee raises in a year or what it is 3% of.

Under the agreement, as the city describes it, when a city road or utility project requires Xcel to move its equipment in the public right-of-way, Xcel bears the cost. At the city's request, Xcel may bury overhead power lines using a "1% Undergrounding Fund"; the city's summary does not say what the 1% is a share of or who pays it. Xcel will meet with the city at least once a year on capital investment and energy demand, and on its energy assistance and efficiency programs.

The printed question names the company, the dates and the rights granted, and states no fee and none of these other terms. They are fixed in the franchise agreement that Ordinance No. 2 grants, and the charter required Xcel to file an unconditional acceptance of every term before the council could refer it.

The current franchise, and the 3% fee under it, stay in effect through December 31, 2027 whichever way the vote goes. The city says that if voters reject the agreement, "Xcel Energy would continue serving Glendale residents," but the city and residents "would not receive the same benefits provided through the franchise agreement, including the 3% franchise fee." Under the charter, every public utility, "whether it has a franchise or not," may use city streets and other public places on terms set by the council or the city manager, and pays the part of their upkeep that its use causes.