WELCOME to BACES!
To go back HOME, click here:
https://
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To go to our Mission Statement / Basic Initial Plan page, click here:
https://
On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 10:35 PM Moji Agha <moji.agha@gmail.com> wrote:
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES)
CONTENTS:
a) Meeting (hybrid) report and Zoom recording of the Tues. Jan 13, 2026, 6 PM in Boulder, CO
b) Moji Agha stepping aside from BACES, due to his [my] Iran peace-building responsibilities
Jan. 19, 2026
Dear BACES community--reached via BCC--this is my last BACES email to you all, as the person who initiated this initiative.
1- Greetings with a broken heart; VERY SADLY, due to the on-going tragedies in Iran, I feel no choice but stepping aside from BACES--due to my heavy peace-building Iran responsibilities.
2- I hope that the pro-municipalization team that has come together since we started this effort will be able to keep it moving forward. This is the updated main page of BACES: https://boulderforpeopleenergy. blogspot.com/p/mission- statement.html.
3- This is the link to the Zoom recording of the special hybrid meeting of BACES (featuring Leslie Glustrom's talk about the history and evolution of the Boulder area's municipalization) on Tues. Jan. 13, 6 PM, here in Boulder -- on Zoom & in person/potluck: https://youtu.be/nBqny5pgXeY -- start watching from minute 34). 4- I (Moji Agha) chaired the gathering--which was hosted by Aaron and Riri Stone; and Doug Rippey (who joined the meeting via Zoom) presented his much appreciated summary remarks--starting from minute 95 of the recording.
5- Thus, due to its importance, the entire text of Doug's informative presentation (entitled BOULDER ENERGY SUPPLY CHANGE OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION) has been uploaded on this main page of BACES: https://boulderforpeopleenergy. blogspot.com/p/mission- statement.html, as Section 5 of the "Some Considerations" segment.
6- While I repeat my deep hope that in my absence BACES continues and thrives, in the PS (below) I am pasting a self-explanatory "introduction" email about the work that has been started, hopefully towards conducting a scientific public opinion survey about municipalization in Boulder.
7- I am open to receiving your feedback, so I can relay it to Aaron, Doug, and Sarah Larrabee; and I hope and pray for the success of BACES.
Thank you.
Peace and justice,Moji Agha(520) 325-3545Dear Aaron Stone,
Hi. Hope you are well.
1- As promised, I am delighted to introduce you to Prof. Mary Meyer: https://www.stat.colostate.edu/~meyer/welcome.html, and vice versa, to help start a conversation between the two of you--and the other key BACES ( https:// boulderforpeopleenergy. blogspot.com/p/mission- statement.html ) participants -- about hopefully conducting a scientific survey of public opinion in Boulder about municipalization.
2- Last night I had a pleasure of having a Zoom conversation with Dr. Meyer (a Prof. Statistics at Colorado State University in Fort Collins), in which she kindly offered to help with the following significant aspects of this (needed) public opinion survey:
a) with regard to critiquing/correcting/modifying the (raw draft) survey questions that I can try to put together--given that I am a social scientist;
and,
b) with regard to the critically important scientific analysis of the collected survey data--after data collection.
3- And she pointed out the obvious fact that this data collection process is the most time- and labour-intensive aspect of conducting this survey.
Anyhow, hopefully this introduction can be the start of a conversation among you all toward this goal.
Thank you.
Peace and justice,
Moji Agha >>> (520) 325-3545
https://juustwa.org/speakers-and-presenters/brother-moji- agha/
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BACES -- Energy Sovereignty -- Report of our last 2025 Zoom meeting
Monday, December 29, 6:15 to 8:15 PM
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES)
Present: Moji Agha (Host); Aaron Stone; John Russell; Lynn Segal; Kristen Marshall; Liz Marsis; Sarah Larrabee; Sally Campbell (S. Carolina)
Quick Recap (in part created by AI; edited by Moji)
The meeting focused on planning the next steps of the Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES), and Moji and those present continued (from last week's Zoom session) the discussion of the organization's planned mission to pursue, initially, the municipalization of Boulder's electricity, with a potential ballot measure in November 2026. Including a progress report by Aaron, the group explored "technical" options, and discussed setting up a Venmo account for donations. Those present also considered various locations for BACES' upcoming meetings, with the Boulder Unity Church emerging as a preferred option; Sarah said she will contact the church. Looking forward to Leslie Glustrom's presentation on Jan. 13th, the conversation touched on past municipalization efforts in Boulder--and the importance of building a coalition with other organizations, as BACES is planning to do. The group agreed to focus on the municipalization in the City of Boulder first, before potentially expanding to other parts of the Boulder area.
Moji strongly invited folks to actually read this updated summary page of BACES: https://
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Summary progress report (Dec. 22, 25) of BACES: info session (on Zoom) >>> Pls. spread the word
Present: Moji Agha (host); Bob Carmichael; John Russell; Brad Segal; Lynn Segal
Quick recap: Generated by AI >>> See below
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES)
Updated summary page >>> https://
CONTACT: moji.agha@gmail.com -
Next Zoom meeting: Last 2025 Info Session
On Zoom, only -- Mon. Dec. 29 (6:30 to 8 PM) -- hosted by Moji Agha
Zoom link & Info:
Meeting ID: 819 6066 8957
Passcode: 189078
PHONE: +1 (719) 359-359-4580 OR +1 (669) 444-9171
The meeting focused on discussing the municipalization of Boulder's electric utility and the progress of the Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES).
Participants shared personal traumatic experiences with recent power outages and discussed the need to assess community sentiment towards municipalization following the recent windstorm.
The group explored the possibility of conducting a scientific survey to gauge public support for municipalization away from Xcel Energy, and discussed potential collaboration with other organizations, including Empower Our Future.
The conversation ended with plans to continue discussions at the next gathering on January 29th.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.
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Summary progress report (Dec. 8) of BACES' 3rd planning mtg. (hybrid) >>> Pls. spread the word
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES)
Present in person--see meeting announcement, below:
Host: Riri Madiyonoe-Stone
Co-moderators: Aaron Stone; Moji Agha
Participants: Sarah Larrabee; John Russell; Lynn Segal
Participating via Zoom/phone (Sorry, we had huge technical issues): Prof. Paul Croce, in DeLand Florida
Dec. 8, 2025
Dear fellow BACES-tanis, 
Hi all--and hope you all are warm, happy, and healthy, as much as possible.
1- Our very warm (and o' so delicious--yummy potluck) hybrid gathering this evening was small (see participants, above), in part due to the massive technical issues we had with Zoom, whereby we eventually had to resort to a cell phone connection, to be able to converse with Prof. Paul Croce, BACES' very supportive "at large" ally in Florida.
2- GREAT news >>> Paul will hopefully help start BACES' sister coalition in DeLand--to minicipalize the super-powerful "Duke Energy" corporation (which makes Xcel look nice ), i.e., DLACES (DeLand Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty).
), i.e., DLACES (DeLand Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty). 3- Prof. Croce's main point was that what we are struggling against here in Colorado is a "significant national issue," so we should not get discouraged.
4- Here is the link to the UPDATED main planning page of BACES: https://
5- While we look forward to our BELOW-listed next (only on Zoom) planning meeting on Mon. Dec. 22 (6:30 to 8 PM--Mountain), in our meeting tonight we celebrated BACES's rapid progress so far (i.e., getting our EIN with the IRS, becoming officially registered in Colorado, and opening our bank account), and we made the needed decisions (by consensus) regarding the following action steps in our planning and implementation process:
a) Sarah will continue her conversations toward finding the lawyer BACES will need towards developing the language of our intended ballot measure next November;
and
b) Aaron and Moji will work together towards creating (on Google) the "conversation platform" BACES will need for easy exchange of ideas and especially for our collaborations.
6- Needless to say, we look forward to your feedback, and will keep you posted.
Thank you.
Energetically sovereign,
Moji Agha >>> moji.agha@gmail.com / (520) 325-3545
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Report of Results: BACES' First Planning Meeting on Zoom (11/10/2025)
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty is a reality!
AI-generated Quick recap, Next Steps, and Summary for the BACES Zoom meeting
Nov. 24, 2025 -- uploaded as Nov. 25
WATCH VIDEO: https://youtu.be/
Quick recap
The meeting focused on organizing efforts to municipalize electricity in Boulder through the formation of a coalition and non-profit organization, with participants sharing their backgrounds and expertise in energy projects. The group discussed plans for a November 2026 ballot measure to create a public utility under city oversight, while exploring historical context and potential challenges from previous municipalization attempts. The conversation ended with discussions about legal representation, upcoming meetings, and potential coalition partnerships, with participants agreeing to continue developing foundational elements and gathering support for the initiative.
Next steps
- Sarah: Contact Randall Weiner to discuss legal support for the group, including the possibility of involving law students and determining cost/arrangement.
- Moji and Aaron: Continue registering BACES with the Colorado Secretary of State and finalize the non-profit business account at Elevations Credit Union.
- Moji and Aaron: Set up and maintain a Google Docs site for collaboration, including meeting minutes, agendas, rules of decorum, and other key documents.
- All members: Recruit additional members and coalition partners, especially those previously involved in municipalization efforts, and invite them to the next meeting.
- Moji: Prepare Persian food for the December 8th in-person potluck meeting at Coldwell Banker's Office.
- All members: Bring food and invite others to the December 8th potluck meeting.
- Aaron: Record relevant links and resources (e.g., history of muni effort, Institute for Local Self-Reliance) in the meeting minutes.
- Moji: Send reminder emails about the December 8th meeting.
- Moji and Aaron (and interested members): Begin process of finding and engaging a lawyer with expertise in public utility law and election law for drafting ballot measure language.
- All members: Start considering and reaching out to potential coalition partners and relevant experts (e.g., Leslie Glustrom, Allison Burchell, previous municipalization activists).
Summary
Meeting Proceeds Despite Video Issues
The meeting was scheduled to start in 5-10 minutes, with participants expecting to join soon. Moji greeted the group and mentioned that John had informed him about Saline's video issues, which were not a concern as the meeting would proceed regardless.
Renewable Energy and Municipalization Discussion
The meeting began with introductions, where participants shared their backgrounds and interests. Josh Maynard discussed his work on renewable energy projects and his organization, Direct Democracy Colorado, which aims to reform election systems. Tim Shackley mentioned his involvement in the municipalization project for 15 years. Dr. Sally Campbell shared her experience in air pollution control and management. Lynn expressed concerns about Xcel Energy's rates and criticized local politicians for betraying the municipalization process. The group agreed to allow Moji to record the meeting.
Boulder Energy Municipalization Initiative
The group discussed their mission to empower Boulder residents by taking control of their energy generation and municipalizing electricity, forming the Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES) with IRS recognition. Moji and Aaron are establishing foundational elements including a bank account and collaboration website, with Josh suggesting the use of Robert's Rules of Order for meeting procedures. Moji presented an initial draft of a proposed ballot measure for November 2026, aiming to municipalize Xcel Energy and create a public utility called Boulder Electric under city oversight.
Boulder Municipal Electricity Planning
The group discussed plans to create a municipal electricity system in Boulder, with Moji explaining that a non-profit called Boulder Electric would operate under the city's auspices. Sally raised questions about power generation and ownership, which Moji addressed by explaining they would purchase Excel's equipment and contract for specialized services. Aaron clarified that while Boulder currently imports most electricity from southern Colorado, they would need to determine which assets to purchase from Excel, including power lines and substations, while avoiding high-voltage transmission investments.
Boulder's Energy Independence Historical Context
Sarah shared a historical perspective on Boulder's energy independence efforts, highlighting the work of Leslie Glustrom in the 1980s-1990s against Xcel Energy. She explained how Boulder residents fought for local control of their electricity, though Xcel later returned with a multi-million dollar proposal. Sarah emphasized that while Boulder once had the opportunity to develop its own energy infrastructure, current technology has advanced to the point where solar and other alternatives could now be more feasible. She suggested organizing a meeting with Leslie Glustrom to gain historical context and guidance for the new group's efforts.
Energy Transition and Community Partnerships
Sarah and Moji discussed the importance of transitioning to a non-profit model for energy control, emphasizing cost savings and community benefits. They explored potential collaborations with other groups, such as Empower Our Future, to promote independent energy installations and shared insights from past projects involving solar panels and heat pumps. Lynn highlighted the need for public-private partnerships to advance geothermal projects, while John raised concerns about the feasibility of ground-based heat pumps. The group also touched on the role of local governments and the potential involvement of former officials in energy initiatives.
Boulder Municipalization Ballot Initiative
The group discussed pursuing a ballot measure for municipalization in Boulder, with Moji sharing feedback from Doug Rickey, a legal expert, who noted that the current ballot measure lacks implementation language and should be accompanied by a companion ordinance terminating Excel's franchise. The group needs to gather approximately 4,000 signatures by May, with Sarah suggesting that 40 volunteers could potentially collect the required signatures over the summer, though she emphasized the difficulty of the task. Moji expressed concerns about the complexity of the initiative and the need for significant collaboration, questioning whether the group should proceed given the challenges ahead.
Boulder's Failed Municipalization Effort
Tim shared his experience with Boulder's municipalization effort, which was halted in 2020 after a decade of work and a narrow defeat by 4%. He explained that despite having a well-developed separation plan and public support through multiple ballots, the initiative failed due to political maneuvering during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a meeting between then-Mayor Weaver and Xcel Energy's Alice Jackson. The city council ultimately paused the municipalization effort and formed a citizen advisory panel, though the separation plan and technical work were preserved for potential future use. Tim emphasized that the main challenge for any future municipalization effort would be overcoming public cynicism about the city's ability to manage such projects effectively.
Boulder Electricity Non-Profit Planning
The group discussed forming a non-profit organization for a municipal electricity initiative in Boulder, with Moji explaining the benefits of operating under a C3 charitable organization structure rather than a C4. They agreed to continue registering with the state and finalizing the Elevations Credit Union business account, while Sarah offered to speak with Randall Wiener about legal representation. The group scheduled their next in-person meeting for December 8th at Coldwell Banker's office, which will include a potluck dinner, and discussed potential lawyers including Randall Wiener, Anne-Marie Cording, and Darren O'Connor, with Josh noting his positive experience working with Darren on homeless advocacy.
Boulder Energy Sovereignty Coalition Planning
The group discussed plans for a December 8th meeting at Caldwell Bankers and discussed forming a Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty. Lynn emphasized that utility bills are a regressive tax and suggested this is a good time to pursue energy sovereignty, while Aaron proposed continuing work on setting up bank accounts and documentation through Google Docs. The group discussed potential coalition partners including BCRESS (Boulder Colorado Renewable Energy Society) and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and identified Councilperson Adams as a potential ally, though they agreed to wait before approaching her until more concrete plans are developed.
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Nov. 14, 2025
This evening, in the "thanks to Aaron Stone's City Council campaign volunteers" dinner at Boulder's TAJ Restaurant, a number of persons expressed interest in joining BACES, and initial volunteers were found for two of our preliminary FCs, or Focus Committees:
Research and Planning FC
Aaron Stone, Moji Agha, Jim Morris, and Foster Goodwill
Outreach and Communications FC
Joy Barrett, Martha McPherson, and Mary Fitzgerald (as youth leader).
Nov. 11, 2025
Dear BACES-ers,
Hi. We had our initial planning meeting last night, the self-explanatory "capsule" of its results is presented below.
This wonderful meeting was the first step of a difficult struggle, and revealed how wounded by Xcel our community is, but Grandmother Earth tells us that we cannot afford not to do our utmost, so that "WE SHALL OVERCOME" Xcel!
Please keep your feedback coming, especially the ones who were able to "Zoom" in last night -- and SPREAD THE WORD!
Thank you.
Energetically Sovereign,
Moji Agha >>> (520) 325-3545
************
SOURCE:
BACES' Reports of our Concluded Meetings page:
Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES)
Energy Sovereignty Zoom Meeting: Mon. Nov. 10, 2025 (6:30 to 8:30 PM, Mountain)
Present partners and allies--including "at large" allies--listed alphabetically: Moji Agha (moderator); Paul Croce; Jesse Kumin; Paul Culnan, Evan Ravitz, Doug Rippey, Saba Romman; John Russell; Tim Schoechle; Lynn Segal; Aaron Stone
CAPSULE of what was done:
Those present (see the list, above) decided by unanimous consensus the following:
a) To form (following a vigorous and friendly sober discussion) the Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES), with the goal of municipalizing Xcel in the Boulder area;
and
b) Using email communication and a WhatsApp community discussion group (WhatsApp join link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/
c) The next regular monthly meeting of BACES (2nd Monday of each month) was scheduled to be held on Zoom (info below) and if possible also in person--after a light potluck (location TBD) on Mon. Dec. 8, 2025, starting at 6:30 PM, Mountain time zone.
Meeting ID: 819 6066 8957
Passcode: 189078
PHONE: +1 (719) 359-359-4580 OR +1 (669) 444-9171
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Slightly edited (by Moji Agha)
AI-generated Quick recap, Next Steps, and Summary for the BACES Zoom meeting--Nov. 10, 2025
The group (see above) held their first planning meeting to discuss energy sovereignty initiatives in the Boulder area, with participants introducing themselves and sharing their backgrounds related to municipalization efforts.
Those present unanimously agreed to form the Boulder Area Coalition for Energy Sovereignty (BACES) to pursue municipalization of electricity in the Boulder area through multiple (as needed) ballot measures, with plans to create a Focus Committee (FC) to develop a concise mission statement and detailed strategy.
The group scheduled future meetings and acknowledged the need for legal advice regarding the municipalization process.
Next steps:
Tim: Take notes/be the scribe for the meeting.
Saba: Create a WhatsApp group for communications between meetings and coordinate with those interested on who will be included, and how.
Moji: Send a follow-up "Report" email to all participants.
Research and Planning Focus Committee (FC):
Work on details of the basic strategy before the December meeting--and on the details of multiple ballot measures for different municipalities in the Boulder area.
Group: Find a lawyer with expertise in ballot propositions and municipal utilities law.
Group: Find a venue for in-person meetings.
Summary
Moji and Tim discussed the "systemic" movement-building significance of the name BACES.
Moji explained the history of the 2C municipalization drive, which lost by 4% in the 2020 Boulder election.
Tim, an entrepreneur and former CU faculty member, explained his experience with municipalization efforts.
Paul Croce, a Florida professor of American history, emphasized the importance of activating public support for energy sovereignty.
The group discussed their opposition to Xcel Energy's current monopoly and planned future meetings, with the next one scheduled for December 8, 2025--second monday of each month, on Zoom and in person, if possible--see above.
The group acknowledged the need for legal advice regarding the municipalization process and agreed to collaboratively work on the complex processes that need to be pursued.
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