Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
imagining different business models. At the same time, they may realize new economic
opportunities, so long as the organization is sufficiently nimble to exploit them. But
consumersshiftingtoaprosumerrolecouldgainbothadditional rightsandresponsibilities.
Must they also accept some of the responsibility that was traditionally held by utilities for
managinggridstability?Willtheygaintherighttoinfluencewhatenergysourcestheutility
uses to produce electricity?
All of this shifting brings incipient tensions between the different groups of actors, and
even within groups of actors, to the surface. For example, the first case we describe in this
chapter pits electricity system actors against each other. In this case, a large, traditionally
organized utility is engaged in an expensive legal battle with a local government and
individual residents of Boulder, Colorado, who are demanding the right to change the mix
of resources used to produce their electricity. Civil society organizations are split, with
some supporting the utility and others supporting the community. Government entities are
also split, with the state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) supporting the utility against
the wishes of the municipal government. As the conflict continues to evolve, different
coalitions emerge and cause further splinters in groups that were previously seen as having
similar interests. For example, the municipality's proposed changes will provide increased
profits for some suppliers of smart grid technologies, which means it is in the best interest
of the suppliers to support the municipality rather than the utility, which could have been
their traditional ally.
7.4 The Battle in Boulder: Energy Autonomy Through
Municipalization
The city of Boulder, Colorado is in the midst of a legal battle with Xcel Energy. A
majority of environmentally conscious city residents want to legally end their long-time
relationship with Xcel. Rather than remaining dependent on Xcel for the operation of their
distribution network, Boulder wants to municipalize its electricity distribution system so
that it can control its management. We define municipalization “as the process by which
municipalities (cities, towns, or counties) take control of the distribution and sometimes
generation, of electricity, usually from an investor owned utility” (Browning 2013 pp.
12-13). Municipalization is one response to the United Nations Environmental
Programme's call for “governments and local institutions … to increase their involvement”
in energy systems (United Nations Environment Programme 2012 ) . In this case, Boulder
would not take over power generation from Xcel, but would directly manage the
low-voltagedistributionnetworkandbettercontrolthesourcesofelectricityincludedinthe
city's power mix. Boulder has ambitious carbon emission reduction aspirations and does
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