City and County of Denver
Referred Question 2K20-year Xcel Energy franchise
Sourced facts
Official ballot title
Shall the City and County of Denver approve the terms of a twenty-year franchise contract, starting January 1, 2027, with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy) to continue its 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 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?
Verbatim from: Denver 2026 Ballot Information Booklet (Denver Elections Division)
Summary
Asks voters to approve a new 20-year franchise agreement, starting January 1, 2027, under which Xcel Energy uses City streets and property to provide utility service and continues paying the City a franchise fee.
Plain-language summary written for this guide from the sources below.
What a YES vote does
The terms of a twenty-year franchise contract with Public Service Company of Colorado (Xcel Energy), starting January 1, 2027, are approved.
What a NO vote does
The proposed franchise contract is not approved. The Ballot Information Booklet states that the current franchise agreement expires at the end of 2026.
Plain-language description, not official text. The Denver Ballot Information Booklet and TABOR notice do not include official yes/no vote descriptions for this measure.
How it got on the ballot
- Council Bill 26-0970. Requested by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (no Council sponsor listed). [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Council committee: approved for filing June 30, 2026, 5–0 (absent: Sandoval, Torres). [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Full City Council: passed July 27, 2026, 10–2. [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Voted yes: Alvidrez, Flynn, Gonzales-Gutierrez, Hinds, Kashmann, Sandoval, Sawyer, Torres, Watson, Romero Campbell. [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Voted no: Lewis, Parady. [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Absent: Gilmore. [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
- Signed by the Mayor July 29, 2026. [Legistar: Council Bill 26-0970]
Official fiscal information
- Continues the existing franchise fee of three percent of Xcel Energy’s applicable electric and natural gas revenues in Denver; “The proposed agreement does not increase the existing three percent franchise fee.”
- Franchise fee revenue: $32.3 million received in 2025; $32.9 million projected for 2026; approximately $34.3 million estimated for 2027, of which $2M would be transferred annually to the Energy Efficiency Assistance Fund. (Projected / estimated)
- One-time payment of $2.5 million in 2027 for utility assistance; estimated total 2027 revenue approximately $36.9 million. (Estimated)
- Estimated $10 million annually in undergrounding benefits (equivalent to 1% of electric service revenues), held and deployed by Xcel at the City’s direction, not paid to the City. (Estimated)
- The booklet also cites “$150 million annually in utility relocation benefits” and states that without a franchise agreement, the City would have to pay Xcel to relocate utility lines for city capital projects.
- 20-year total franchise fee revenue projections: $808.5M (1.5% growth), $853.6M (2.0%), $901.7M (2.5%). “These projections are estimates only.”
From the official source’s fiscal section. Figures marked “(Estimated)” are estimates or projections in the source.