Pueblo votes to stay with Black Hills in another landslide. Nearly 78% say 'no' on 2A

Yahoo

07-05-2025

For the second time since May 2020, voters emphatically opposed a city of Pueblo attempt to cancel its franchise agreement with Black Hills Energy.
The Pueblo County Elections Department counted 16,005 votes against and 4,557 votes for Ballot Initiative 2A by 10 p.m. on May 6, 2025, according to unofficial results. The initiative asked voters if the city should cancel the agreement and acquire the "generation, transmission and distribution assets" of Black Hills, if "determined feasible."
While nearly 78% of voters shot down Ballot Initiative 2A in 2025, a similar measure put out to voters in 2020 failed with over 75% of votes against it.
Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham speaks in opposition to Black Hills Energy rate increases outside the Pueblo County Courthouse on Thursday, July 11, 2024
Pueblo mayor: Community 'obviously supports' Black Hills
"The community obviously supports Black Hills Energy and is okay with the extreme rate increases and high price of their electricity," Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham told the Chieftain on May 7. "When you have millions of dollars to campaign to make sure that stays in place, it's really hard to challenge that situation."
A 6.7% electric rate increase on Black Hills' Colorado ratepayers was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and went into effect on March 22. Prior to the increase, a January 2024 survey from the Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities (CAMU) demonstrated that Black Hills customers were already paying higher rates than customers of any other utility in Colorado.
Black Hills Energy Service Center located at 105 S. Victoria Ave.
Over $1.5 million campaign aides in defeat of Ballot Initiative 2A
No on 2A, a campaign against the city's efforts to leave Black Hills, spent over $1.51 million between March 4 and May 2 with over $1,600 remaining on hand, according to the Pueblo City Clerk's office. Contributions received by No on 2A included $1.5 million from Black Hills Colorado Electric, LLC. and $30,000 from Edison Electric Institute, Inc. — an association representing electric utility companies throughout the U.S.
Expenditure statements from the city clerk's office show money spent by No on 2A going toward TV media services, online campaigning, mailers, polling, bank fees and other voter outreach services.
Campaign materials from No on 2A argued that a city-run or regional electric utility would be more costly to ratepayers than continued operation by Black Hills. The over $30 million spent by the city of Boulder in a decade-long attempt to municipalize its utility, and a Brattle Group Study showing municipalization would cost $1 billion in Pueblo, were often referenced by No on 2A to support its arguments.
Black Hills 'delighted' at special election result
"We simply asked voters a series of questions and we trusted the answer... Do you want to be Boulder? Do you want to go $1 billion in debt? Do you think the city can handle this? What happens if there's a cyber attack? We just ask questions and let voters kind of come to their own conclusion about those things," No on 2A spokesperson Steve Welchert told the Chieftain.
James Williams, a regional manager of public affairs for Black Hills Energy, shared a statement with the Chieftain and other media outlets about an hour and a half after the first batch of Ballot Initiative 2A election results dropped, at which point 13,800 of 17,504 total counted had been cast opposing 2A.
"We're delighted that Pueblo voters overwhelmingly said no to an attempted government takeover of our electric system, for the second time in five years," Williams said in the statement. "Voters know the city's own study showed that a billion-dollar takeover in Pueblo simply isn't feasible, and there's no practical path for an estimated $4 billion region-wide takeover effort, which would be highly complex and unlikely to succeed."
What's next for the city of Pueblo and Black Hills?
Despite the outcome of the $100,000 special election, Graham told the Chieftain that Pueblo City Council will still be voting on whether or not to take the 2025 off-ramp with Black Hills in August. The city's franchise agreement with Black Hills expires in 2030.
"Over the next five years, we'll continue to work on a plan to hopefully find another energy provider or create our own so that we can provide our cost-effective rates to the community," Graham said.
Pueblo County Senior Public Information Officer Anthony Mestas told the Chieftain that "all ballots received were counted" as of the night of May 6. The only remaining ballots include those requiring signature cures and overseas ballots. The deadline for cures and overseas ballots is May 14 at midnight.
"Once those are processed, an update will be released on May 15, 2025, by end of day," Mestas said.
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Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at [e-mail]. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo special election: Bid to leave Black Hills fails in landslide