AURORA | Aurora moved one step closer Monday to dimming Xcel Energy’s profits on street-lighting by moving ahead with a controversial plan to force the power company to sell about 20,000 streetlights they own, operate and bill the city for.

On a vote of 8-1, City Council approved an ordinance granting the city the right to exercise its eminent domain authority on thousands of streetlights across Aurora, which are currently operated by Xcel, in exactly one year if the city does not come to an agreement with the energy provider in the coming months.

Ward III Councilwoman Marsha Berzins cast the lone dissenting vote on the ordinance. Ward II Councilwoman Renie Peterson was absent from the meeting.

The ordinance marks the latest action in a nearly decade-long saga between Xcel and the city.

About 10 years ago, the city first approached the Public Utilities Commission, the state agency that oversees energy and some other public amenities, to see if the PUC would consider altering the streetlight tariff structure in the city, according to Michael Lawson, manager of special projects for the city.

Currently, the city pays Xcel for the energy the streetlights use, and for “routine maintenance,” like changing burnt out bulbs and photo sensors. But in 2012, the PUC approved a different tariff, which allows cities to maintain their own lights, separate from a utility provider, according to Lawson. However, for cities to take advantage of the new structure, a municipality must own all of the lights within its system.

In Aurora, the new tariff stripped of maintenance fees could cut the city’s annual streetlight operations bill by between 50 and 80 percent, according to Lawson. He said Aurora pays Xcel approximately $5 million a year to run the some 23,000 streetlights in the city.

Aurora city council members gave city staff the green light to pursue a new arrangement with Xcel during a closed-door executive session last year. Staffers began talks with Xcel last September, according to Lawson.

Even after fronting the cost of purchasing 23,000 streetlights, Lawson said the city’s savings in the long-run would be “considerable.” He said the city would likely contract out maintenance services if the deal were to go through.

Citing ongoing contract negotiations with Xcel, Lawson said he couldn’t clarify how much Aurora’s grid of streetlights is worth. The city hired a consultant to determine that value in December 2015, according to city documents.

The cities of Golden, Centennial and Lakewood have each looked into pursuing the new tariff, although none of those cities have been able to execute it yet, according to Lawson. He said no Colorado cities in the Xcel service area have succeeded in acquiring their entire grid of streetlights from the company.

“It’s been challenging,” Lawson said of negotiating with Xcel. “Streetlights are a significant asset for (Xcel) and giving that up is probably not something that their bottom line is going to benefit from.”

Citing the non-disclosure agreement with the city, Mark Stutz, spokesman for Xcel, declined to provide additional details on the company’s position.

“Xcel Energy owns approximately 23,000 streetlights in Aurora, and while we believe we have the expertise and experience to continue to operate the system in the best interests of our customers, we have entered into these discussions with the city,” Stutz said in an emailed statement.

Lawson said the new ordinance passed Monday night is merely insurance for the city to utilize should talks with Xcel stall in the next year. The measure begins a one-year clock, at the end of which the city could use its eminent domain power and force Xcel to sell the streetlights at a a fair-market rate if an agreement is not reached.

However, Lawson said he’s optimistic a deal will be struck before the clock runs out next winter.

“We really don’t want to use that and we don’t anticipate that being necessary, but it’s a way to ensure the city will get the best deal possible,” he said. “We really hope it doesn’t get to that.”