The breakdown: our shoot in Boulder, CO
Kathy Haddock, Senior Counsel for the City of Boulder
EDCO’s film team just wrapped on our most extensive shoot yet. In Boulder, Colorado, we interviewed over a dozen people, ranging from representatives of the local monopoly electric company, to the former mayor, to activists, and more! Our stop in Boulder tells a complicated story, of how activists and local officials waged a decades-long fight for public power, and the resistance that they met along the way. Here are our 5 key takeaways!
1: The city of Boulder Colorado Spent over a decade fighting to take over their electric grid, a move which is virtually unprecedented in the last 100 years. In successive ballot-measure campaigns, the city won the approval of Boulder’s voters to keep pursuing “Public Power”. The goals of the public power movement were to both switch Boulder to renewable electricity, and to reclaim local profits and control.
2: Public power can strengthen cities and cut costs. Each year, Boulder's utility takes around 20 million dollars in profits from the city. Public Power would have put that money back in the pockets of Boulder. Instead of losing $20 million dollars a year to an out-of-state monopoly, Boulder could have invested in their schools, or even given the money back to customers.
3: Boulder eventually lost their campaign for Public power, but they won key victories along the way. In 2020, as Boulder’s legal team closed in on a successful takeover of the grid, a deal was cut to settle with Xcel, and Boulder’s voters approved the measure to allow them to all but end the push for public power in Boulder. So what changed since the previous three elections, when voters had approved continuing the fight for public power?
4: Boulder’s takeover attempt put huge pressure on Xcel Energy to adopt green power sources, which spurred nationwide changes in the use of green energy. Thanks to pressure created by Boulder’s decade long takeover attempt, Xcel energy took nation-leading steps in green energy adoption and innovation. Since Boulder’s pressure forced Xcel to take a hard turn towards renewable power, much of the nation’s Utility industry has taken similar steps, wary of efforts like Boulder’s. Xcel has made leaps and bounds trying to appease the public power movement’s demands for climate action, and this is the true victory of activists in Boulder.
5: Boulder’s story tells us there is still hope for public power, and energy democracy. Even though Boulder’s push for public power has ended, they proved that even small cities can take revolutionary steps towards protecting the planet and empowering their communities. Xcel’s willingness to settle with Boulder, and the remarkable changes they made as a result of public pressure prove that local climate action may be the secret to saving our planet. Cities and Towns around the country should take on their utilities, because the fight for public power can both save you money and help save our planet.
