PUC
confirmed its earlier oral determination that Xcel Energy had
failed to meet the burden of proof necessary to justify the
tariff:
"Public
Service has attempted to limit the Commission's discretion,
forcing the Commission to accept the entire proposal, or
nothing at all. There are portions of the proposal that
are reasonable and consistent with statutory standards.
However, when taken as a
whole, the proposal is significantly flawed, and Public
Service's arguments in support of the tariff are insufficient
to justify its problematic language . . .
The Commission
agrees with NAIOP's position that, while some reasonable
uniform language would be beneficial to many customers, the
proffered proposal essentially does more harm than good
. . ."
[Note
that PUC's use of "NAIOP" is shorthand for our entire
intervener group and the joint efforts of all of our
witnesses.]
PUC struck the entirety
of the tariff, leaving nothing of Xcel Energy's proposal in
force. However, the PUC recognized that the
parties need additional guidance on the reasonableness of
elements of the Xcel Energy proposal to govern case-by-case
negotiations or a future effort to develop a more reasonable,
limited tariff.
Due
to this recognition, NAIOP and the intervener partners are
continuing with our efforts to pass legislation during the
2010 session which would provide this additional
guidance. This proactive use of legislation
would prevent another tariff intervention from being necessary
(which would be very costly).
If
you want more details on this issue, we have attached a fact
sheet which will give you an overview of the tariff and
the process. We have also attached the full PUC
decision (all 110 pages!) if you would like to review the
details (which start on page 59) along with a recap from
the primary attorney. Additionally,
here is a link to the legislation as currently introduced at the legislature
(HB10-1187).
This effort was
a tremendous victory for the Commercial Real Estate Industry
and particularly as it relates to the much needed
redevelopment of brownfield sites.
NAIOP
Colorado thanks its intervener partners for their willingness
to take on this tough issue and the financial ramifications of
the legal battle before the PUC. Special
thanks to our attorneys Kaplan & Kirsch (John Putnam and
Polly Jessen) who did an outstanding job for the intervener
group. If you would like to help defray the remaining costs of
this effort (nearly $60,000), please contact the NAIOP
office.
If you
have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to give
one of us a call.
Vice President for Government Affairs
(303) 782-0155
