SUBJECT:
Title
An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Erie Approving a Purchase and Sale Agreement, a Bill of Sale, a Partial Assignment of Easements and a Transition Agreement, all for the Purchase of Streetlights and Related Easements from Public Service Company of Colorado d/b/a Xcel Energy for $827,458.71
Body
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Services
Department
PRESENTER(S):
Eryka Thorley, Sustainability Manager
David Frank, Director of Environmental Services
First Name Last Name, Title
TIME ESTIMATE: 30 minutes
only required for non-consent items
FISCAL SUMMARY:
Cost as Recommended: $827,458.71
Balance Available: $2,640,000.00
Budget Line Item Number: 100-25-780-605000-247001
New Appropriation Required: No
POLICY ISSUES:
Approving this Ordinance is consistent with Erie’s identified goals of fiscal responsibility, environmental sustainability, well-maintained transportation infrastructure, and safe and healthy community.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve this Ordinance to facilitate acquiring Xcel’s streetlights in Erie and achieve energy and cost savings as well as greater local control over design, safety, technology innovation and community engagement issues.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
In 2019, the Town of Erie began exploring streetlight acquisition. This conversation began due to the well-established energy and financial savings streetlight acquisition provides. In 2020, the Town conducted a Town-wide streetlight audit. Based on the information from that audit, and analysis of the associated savings from acquiring the streetlights, converting all the lights that are not already LEDs to LED fixtures, and operating them as a Town-owned asset, staff, with Council support, began negotiations with Xcel in 2021. Because Erie has two energy utility providers, negotiations with Xcel Energy and United Power have occurred in parallel. Currently, Erie’s Xcel Energy streetlight acquisition is ready for filing with the Public Utility Commission. The PUC’s final review will take 30-90 days to complete, at which point Erie will need to pay for the 1,004 Xcel Energy streetlights and assume ownership and maintenance. Xcel will continue to supply power to all the lights, but under their lower-cost Streetlight Only tariff.
If Council approves this acquisition, the Town will contract with Tanko Lighting for the remainder of 2024 and 2025, while reviewing the pros and cons of bringing those maintenance responsibilities in-house. Tanko Lighting will facilitate the immediate conversion of streetlights from non-LED lights to LED. In addition to providing better quality and more focused light, LED streetlights use approximately 75% less energy than the older High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights, providing significant energy reductions and therefore financial savings. The forecasted one and 20 year financial and energy savings are included in the table below.
In addition to energy and cost savings, owning Erie’s streetlights allows for public health benefits with increased visibility, dark sky compatibility to support wildlife, increased response time when repairs are needed eliminating the middle person. It will also promote better design consistency with current and new developments, and provide the ability for the Town to use these streetlight as cell tower boosters, EV chargers, seasonal decorations (holiday lights), sensors for air quality or traffic control and other possible uses.
Moving forward, the Town is developing a strategic streetlight plan including updates to the Municipal Code. Soon, the Town will request that all new development streetlights be dedicated to the Town directly, increasing cost savings as well as achieving greater design consistency of lights throughout Erie. Next steps in this effort include developing this strategic streetlight plan and bringing a streetlight dedication resolution to the Council for approval.
Note on Confidential Agreements:
Xcel Energy is a regulated for-profit business and Xcel considers some of the information in the attached agreements confidential/proprietary under the Colorado Open Records Act. Those portions of the agreements that are classified as such have been redacted.
COUNCIL PRIORITY(S) ADDRESSED:
ü Attractive Community Amenities
ü Prosperous Economy
ü Well-Maintained Transportation Infrastructure
ü Small Town Feel
ü Safe and Healthy Community
ü Effective Governance
ü Environmentally Sustainable
ü Fiscally Responsible
ATTACHMENT(S):
1. Town of Erie Xcel Energy Streetlight Acquistion Presentation
2. Ordinance
3. Purchase & Sale Agreement (Redacted)
4. Bill of Sale (Redacted)
5. Partial Assignment of Easements
6. Transition Agreement (Redacted)