Study Session Memo

City of Boulder City Council Study Session Summary Meeting Date: June 4, 2026

Agenda Title Consideration of a motion to accept the April 23, 2026, Study Session Summary regarding Power Reliability and Resilience.

Staff Contact • •

Carolyn Elam, Senior Manager, Climate Initiatives Jonathan Koehn, Director, Climate Initiatives

Draft Motion Language Staff requests council consideration of this matter and action in the form of the following motion: Motion to accept the April 23, 2026 Study Session Summary regarding Power Reliability and Resilience.

Presentation Summary The Power Reliability and Resilience Study Session provided City Council a proposed scope and engagement plan to develop a power reliability and resilience roadmap, which was identified as a 2026 City Council Priority. The proposed plan would establish a comprehensive understanding of the investments Xcel Energy is making in its electric infrastructure, the effectiveness these investments will have on improving power reliability and resilience, and strategies that can be pursued to improve the community’s resilience to power disruption. Staff requested council’s feedback on the proposed approach and final deliverables for the project.

Questions for Council and Direction Received 1. Does the proposed approach, including the proposed analysis and the development of a Power Resilience Roadmap, align with City Council’s expectations for this priority? Council members supported the approach and did not request any changes to the scope, timeline, or engagement approach. Council affirmed the importance analyzing risks from multiple lenses, including community-wide, critical infrastructure, and vulnerable populations, and the need to consider current reliability risks as well future risks, such as Xcel’s ability to serve new growth. Discussion items included clarifying questions as to how the already-identified Xcel projects would reduce outage risk and what steps could be taken to ensure Xcel remained accountable for implementing the identified projects. Council also sought clarity on the long-term vision and how success would be measured. Council also expressed a desire to have final roadmap include cost estimates and realistic trade-offs with fiscal realities to inform the 2028 budget. 2. Are there additional policy actions or strategies Council would like staff to evaluate as part of the Power Resilience Roadmap? Council was supportive of the policy actions staff identified in the study session memo and did not have any additions. Council expressed a desire to further explore disaster recovery planning separate from the 2026 Power Reliability and Resilience project, to include power infrastructure needs for Area III should it be leveraged for disaster recovery. Council also raised the importance of the City’s continued advocacy in the legislative and regulatory space to support business models that drive improvement to the system while mitigating growth in utility rates. 3. Does council support the engagement approach as presented? Council supported staff’s proposed engagement approach including the Council/Community Forum planned for October 8, 2026. Council affirmed the importance of differentiating between various experiences in the community, understanding that even within frontline communities, individuals experience power outage impacts differently.

Next Steps for City Council Staff plan to provide an update to council through an Information Packet in early summer. A Study Session is scheduled for August 27, 2026, on the Xcel Partnership; representatives from Xcel will participate. Staff have reserved October 8, 2026, for the Council/Community Forum and will share updates on the planning for the Forum in the aforementioned Information Packet.

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