Despite ongoing concerns about high electric bills, voters in Pueblo appear to have overwhelmingly rejected a measure to potentially end Black Hills Energy’s franchise in the city.
16,005 people voted against the measure in Tuesday's special election, compared to 4,557 who cast a ballot in favor. About 26 percent of voters returned their ballot. Results are unofficial.
City of Pueblo Ballot Question 2A results
Yes: 4,557
No: 16,005
The ballot asked if the city should cancel its franchise agreement with the South Dakota-based power utility and acquire its generation, transmission and distribution assets if another option was determined to be feasible.
A preliminary study done by the city showed that it would be too costly to acquire the utility’s assets on its own but city representatives said if the ballot measure passed they could continue to explore other options such as “regional acquisition of Black Hills’ assets, the formation of a multi-jurisdictional cooperative or utility, or supporting a third-party acquisition of assets across Black Hills’ service area.”
An independent study paid for by Black Hills Energy estimated that a city takeover of assets in Pueblo would cost more than $1 billion and would raise customer bills, according to a written statement from the company.
Another report commissioned by Black Hills Energy said “the cost of a system-wide takeover of our electric utility would cost $4.1 billion, be unprecedented in its complexity, and face significant challenges at the state and federal level.”
A marketing campaign in opposition to the measure included television spots with current and former council members speaking against it, along with a flurry of people armed with flyers and knocking on doors, multiple glossy mailing pieces and more.
There was little in the way of marketing in support of the measure.
The next chance for the city to change its agreement with the utility is in 2030.
