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Denver Gets Efficiency Package From Franchise Deal
May 24, 2006
Xcel Energy and Denver came to agreement in April on a
franchise for the utility to operate in the city. The franchise will
last 20 years and allows Xcel to be the sole provider of electricity
and natural gas to Denver residents and businesses.
Under the agreement, the city gets $22 million in fees
from the utility. And Xcel agrees to pay for paving and construction
when it has to dig up underground wires and pipelines. The utility
will also contribute to programs to make low-income housing more
energy efficient.
The city also negotiated with Xcel for more renewable
energy. Xcel will contribute $200,000 to the solar power plant
Denver is building on the site of the former Denver International
Airport. And Xcel agreed to purchase 22 megawatts (MW) of
hydroelectric power from the Denver Water Board over the next 20
years.
This power purchase agreement is critical to small
hydroelectric installations because without it the city cannot move
electricity it generates to where it is consumed or sell it to
someone else. Denver, Boulder, and some towns in Colorado generate a
significant portion of their electricity from water supply pipes and
at wastewater treatment facilities.
CRES and renewable energy advocates maintain these
small hydroelectric facilities could spread throughout the West in
the coming years. They are usually small and quiet, so neighbors
rarely notice them. They are installed at existing facilities, so
they do not affect stream flows. And they often pay for themselves
through electricity sales. Once the utility is on board, these
installations are often win-win arrangements for the power companies
and water agencies across the West.
The Denver Post published an article by staff writer
Christopher Osher in the April 26 edition titled “Xcel, city get
20-year pact.”
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3748100
The Denver Post published another article by
Christopher Osher in the May 23 edition titled “Provisions in
proposed Xcel deal draw praise.”
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_3854209 |
