Xcel Energy Outages, Billing and Customer Response

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• Share Xcel has no problem collecting our money, everything else is impossible on Facebook Share Xcel has no problem collecting our money, everything else is impossible on Twitter Share Xcel has no problem collecting our money, everything else is impossible on Linkedin Email Xcel has no problem collecting our money, everything else is impossible link

  Xcel has no problem collecting our money, everything else is impossible

  by tsukiakari, 6 months ago

  I've had several issues with Xcel over the years. I've had approximately 3-4 outages per year lasting an several hours and usually a few smaller outages of 5 minutes to an hour, too. These outages have almost always occurred during clear weather and calm winds. The powerlines are underground in my neighborhood but not in some adjacent neighborhoods, which seem to be where issues frequently occur. For the amount we pay Xcel for service, the service should be impeccable, and it isn't even close. When an outage does occur, the text message updates with restoration estimates are often neither timely... Continue reading

  I've had several issues with Xcel over the years. I've had approximately 3-4 outages per year lasting an several hours and usually a few smaller outages of 5 minutes to an hour, too. These outages have almost always occurred during clear weather and calm winds. The powerlines are underground in my neighborhood but not in some adjacent neighborhoods, which seem to be where issues frequently occur. For the amount we pay Xcel for service, the service should be impeccable, and it isn't even close. When an outage does occur, the text message updates with restoration estimates are often neither timely nor accurate. Sometimes it takes an hour or two before I receive a message with an estimate, and often the estimate changes, or I receive a message with a restoration time estimate that comes in after that time has passed, or power has already been restored.

  Then there's the website. I constantly have issues with their website. Blank pages, loading screens that last too long, screens that never load, links to pages missing, etc. I tried to download some of my usage data to analyze whether I should switch to their new Residential flat Opt Out rate, and the data in the exported spreadsheets was actually wrong, like the system was making up numbers or something. The website is burdensome to use and it almost seems like this is intentional or just negligent.

  I don't usually bother to contact them for customer service unless I absolutely have to because there's usually a wait to talk to someone and then accomplishing my task is difficult.

  I have no faith in Xcel ever doing the right thing, as they have demonstrated over and over that they care only for our money and not for the quality of service. I'd like to see steep penalties for outages. I'm not in the areas that are normally affected by safety outages (i.e., for wind), but there should be a third party regulatory body that advises them on outages for safety, and then they should also be penalized for those as well. They have the ability to see outages instantaneously with smart meters now; they should have to aggregate and report on outages, and when outages occur frequently (e.g., more than once in six months) or for extended amounts of time (e.g., for more than an hour), there should be forced bill credits to those affected, because those outages represent a failure of Xcel to hold up their end of the service.

  And finally, the PUC needs to stop approving rate increases or tie rate increases to long-term service improvements that must be measurable and checked periodically, where a failure to meet improvement metrics results in an immediate expiration of the rate increase.

  Xcel must be forced to do the right thing, because they certainly won't do it on their own.
• Share Over 18 Months of Misapplied Electric Billing Due to Switched Meter on Facebook Share Over 18 Months of Misapplied Electric Billing Due to Switched Meter on Twitter Share Over 18 Months of Misapplied Electric Billing Due to Switched Meter on Linkedin Email Over 18 Months of Misapplied Electric Billing Due to Switched Meter link

  Over 18 Months of Misapplied Electric Billing Due to Switched Meter

  by SM18, 6 months ago

  I moved into my residence in Wheat Ridge, CO, in January 2024. In July 2024, I contacted Xcel about an unusually high electric bill and was told it was likely due to my refrigerator. No further investigation was done.

  After continued high bills, I contacted Xcel again in July 2025 and was told it was a landlord issue. My landlord’s electrician suspected my meter was switched with another unit. I reported this to Xcel, and on July 23, 2025, their electrician confirmed that my meter had been switched with my neighbor’s since my move-in date (meaning I was billed for... Continue reading

  I moved into my residence in Wheat Ridge, CO, in January 2024. In July 2024, I contacted Xcel about an unusually high electric bill and was told it was likely due to my refrigerator. No further investigation was done.

  After continued high bills, I contacted Xcel again in July 2025 and was told it was a landlord issue. My landlord’s electrician suspected my meter was switched with another unit. I reported this to Xcel, and on July 23, 2025, their electrician confirmed that my meter had been switched with my neighbor’s since my move-in date (meaning I was billed for my neighbor’s usage, and vice-versa, for over 18 months).

  Since that confirmation, I have repeatedly requested a full audit of my account, corrected bills, and a refund or credit for overcharges. I submitted a written request on August 11, 2025, but my subsequent bill still reflected the wrong meter number and charge. After my PUC complaint, an Xcel representative stated my account was on a credit hold and I would not be penalized for not paying the incorrect bill, yet I have received no corrected billing or resolution.

  Xcel acknowledged the error more than three months ago. This delay and lack of responsiveness are unacceptable and highlight ongoing issues with Xcel’s customer service and billing accuracy.
• Share XCEL Energy Refrigerator Rebate Program. on Facebook Share XCEL Energy Refrigerator Rebate Program. on Twitter Share XCEL Energy Refrigerator Rebate Program. on Linkedin Email XCEL Energy Refrigerator Rebate Program. link

  XCEL Energy Refrigerator Rebate Program.

  by Marianne Ramos or mwr, 7 months ago
  

  April- I'm sorry to add to your workload, but I was frankly shocked when I recently tried to use one of the XCEL Energy Rebate programs-so much so that I feel it deserves to have a complaint filed with the PUC. I have copied both Rebecca White and Erin O'Neill because I believe it is important for them to know how poorly run rebate programs that are actively being promoted by the PUC and paid for by XCEL customers under demand side management efficiency programs.

  In way of explanation, my husband and I have inherited a home that was previously... Continue reading

  April- I'm sorry to add to your workload, but I was frankly shocked when I recently tried to use one of the XCEL Energy Rebate programs-so much so that I feel it deserves to have a complaint filed with the PUC. I have copied both Rebecca White and Erin O'Neill because I believe it is important for them to know how poorly run rebate programs that are actively being promoted by the PUC and paid for by XCEL customers under demand side management efficiency programs.

  In way of explanation, my husband and I have inherited a home that was previously owned by my mother and father in law and lived in by my indigent sister in law prior to her death. One of the items in the home was a very old (over 20 years old), very large, very inefficient refrigerator. We recently have purchased a new much smaller 11 cu energy efficient refrigerator- and made decisions about removal of the old refrigerator based on my knowledge that PSCO had a free pickup, with $50 rebate demand side management program.

  As you know, I am always interested in "testing" the consumer programs that are run by our regulated utilities and promoted through the PUC website, so I thought I would use the PSCO refrigerator repair program.

  I used the XCEL energy website to register for the rebate and schedule the refrigerator pickup- today's date is October 15th. I stated that the refrigerator would be either at the curb or at the top of the driveway for pickup at any time. Interestingly, the first available pickup time I could schedule was December 2, 2025- seven weeks after initiation of rebate. See attached for screen shot of my scheduled appointment.

  Given the current XCEL Energy pickup schedule, there will be an old appliance laying in the street for almost two months. This delay represents a public safety hazard (if doors are not removed children can be trapped inside and suffocate) and the presence of a large object on sidewalk and gutter impedes traffic and pedestrian access. It is also considered as illegal dumping by the city of Denver which is aggressively enforced in this particular neighborhood.

  I called the phone number listed on the XCEL website where people with questions about rebates could speak to "trained" customer service representatives. I spoke with Tess (Employee ID 324400). Tessa professionally let me know that XCEL Energy had third party contractor Clear Results who was performing the appliance pickups and that XCEL Energy was well aware of the long delays. When I asked Tessa how long after pickup someone could expect to receive a rebate check, she stated it would be six weeks after pickup- that means that someone- like myself who scheduled a pickup appointment on October 15 would receive a check after January 13- three months from initial scheduling.

  As a member of the Fixed Assets Staff, I am well aware of how well funded these rebate programs are. I am also well aware of how much XCEL Energy portrays themselves to be a good corporate citizen and how much they care for their consumers- and the environment.

  I wish to lodge a complaint because based on this experience- PSCO's poor management of third party contractor Clear Results documents that a). XCEL does not care for their customers or their customer experience when it comes to energy efficiency rebates; b) They actively promote delays in appliance removal that put young children and pedestrians in their service territory in harms way; c). their negligence creates situations that promote leaving trash and debris on the street and walkways; and finally, d). Energy efficiency programs run through the DSM, are run so poorly that they are actively ineffective- which negates the primary mission of the DSM funding provided by ratepayers.

  I look forward to hearing the Company's response to my complaint. My intent in filing this complaint is to get XCEL to force its third party contractors to be more responsive to those who are actively trying to to the right thing.- Marianne Ramos

  Followup email-

  Yes- I'm looking for an informal complaint process. Property Address is 2519 S. Patton Court, Denver Co 80219. Account number is: 53-0015476422-5. My husband Ted Ramos is the owner of the property, my sons- Samuel and Jacob Ramos are the "renters" for the property.

  
  

  As followup- I called Clear Results this morning (888)-706-8083 and determined that even though I set up an appointment on the XCEL website, for December 2, it seems that at least for December 2 (the only remaining time allowed to be scheduled during October, November and December) there is a glitch- which means that people- like myself, think they have set up the appointment, when in fact the website has not recorded the appointment time.

  
  

  Just as a check of the process-during the call with the Clear Results rep this morning, I went through the motions to set up a pickup appointment time for December 2- through their on site rep. The rep said I would be receiving an automated email confirming that I had successfully scheduled pickup appointment time. Its been almost an hour at this point- and still no automated response confirming a pickup. When I expressed concerns about the problems consumers are experiencing with the program, the rep directed me to forward my concerns to the email address (XcelEnergyrefrigeratorrecycling@support.clearesults.com) and I was told a manager would call me back. We'll see what happens.

  
  

  Based on my experience of yesterday evening and this morning- XCEL's refrigerator rebate program is not accessible either by website or by phone contact. With this complaint, both XCEL and their third party contractor are aware of the issues and at this point seem not to be interested in fixing a process that is entirely broken. And ratepayers are paying for what service here?- I will forward my complaint information to the investigatory docket.- mwr
• Share Unable to get gas turned on after fire on Facebook Share Unable to get gas turned on after fire on Twitter Share Unable to get gas turned on after fire on Linkedin Email Unable to get gas turned on after fire link

  Unable to get gas turned on after fire

  by William G, 8 months ago
  Working with Xcel Energy is the most frustrating experience ever. I had a fire and the gas was turned off in January 2025. For part of August and most of September, still trying to get the gas turned back on! All inspections have been performed and communicated to Xcel Energy, they've acknowledged receipt. I still get to pay the monthly meter fee with no service, but cannot get this on. Fall is almost here now... They suck!

  Working with Xcel Energy is the most frustrating experience ever. I had a fire and the gas was turned off in January 2025. For part of August and most of September, still trying to get the gas turned back on! All inspections have been performed and communicated to Xcel Energy, they've acknowledged receipt. I still get to pay the monthly meter fee with no service, but cannot get this on. Fall is almost here now... They suck!
• Share Power Outages - Highlands Ranch on Facebook Share Power Outages - Highlands Ranch on Twitter Share Power Outages - Highlands Ranch on Linkedin Email Power Outages - Highlands Ranch link

  Power Outages - Highlands Ranch

  by Rmals, 8 months ago

  Back to back power outages in Highlands ranch. Morning of 9/24 and evening 9/23.

  We had rain but no severe weather on 9/23. No bad weather on 9/24. The community needs more information about cause of outages.

  How is it there are outages occurring without bad weather? This impacts people and businesses in many ways.

  I personally work from home and this has impacted my ability to work these two days.

  If outages continue unexpectedly throughout the working day, this would put my job at risk if I have unreliable power.

  Back to back power outages in Highlands ranch. Morning of 9/24 and evening 9/23.

  We had rain but no severe weather on 9/23. No bad weather on 9/24. The community needs more information about cause of outages.

  How is it there are outages occurring without bad weather? This impacts people and businesses in many ways.

  I personally work from home and this has impacted my ability to work these two days.

  If outages continue unexpectedly throughout the working day, this would put my job at risk if I have unreliable power.
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  Columbine Hills Outages

  by Frustrated in Columbine!, 8 months ago

  Good Afternoon,

  I am writing in regard to a recent 9 News story about multiple power outages in the Columbine Hills area. We have also been victims of a number of outages in the past couple of years. The most recent outage on September 5th was appx. an 8 hour outage (1:30am-9:00am). We had zero warning that the outage was "scheduled".

  The worst outage we have experienced lasted a MISERABLE 48+ hours. It was cold, we lost food, and 1 of our dogs hid under the covers shivering. I recall waking up one of those mornings to a 48 degree... Continue reading

  Good Afternoon,

  I am writing in regard to a recent 9 News story about multiple power outages in the Columbine Hills area. We have also been victims of a number of outages in the past couple of years. The most recent outage on September 5th was appx. an 8 hour outage (1:30am-9:00am). We had zero warning that the outage was "scheduled".

  The worst outage we have experienced lasted a MISERABLE 48+ hours. It was cold, we lost food, and 1 of our dogs hid under the covers shivering. I recall waking up one of those mornings to a 48 degree house.

  One of the most frustrating things about the continual outages, is our neighbors directly across the street are not affected.

  I have a hybrid work schedule, where I am at home 2 days every week. You can only imagine the stress the continual outages have caused me with my job, and us as a family.

  I would like to request a complete outage report going back to September 2022 please.

  Thank you in advance.

  
  
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  Billing problems

  by Gary Christiansen, 8 months ago
  I opted into the WindSource renewable energy program to pay an extra $0.01/kWhr for Wind energy with Xcel for multiple years. Last year, I wanted to try to cut back on spending and asked Xcel to opt out of it. They said that they would have it processed and removed from the bill a month or two later. A year later and with multiple calls and emails with Xcel, they still hadn't gotten it removed.

  I filed a complain with the PUC commission. A few days or a week later, I received a call from the PUC and a second... Continue reading

  I opted into the WindSource renewable energy program to pay an extra $0.01/kWhr for Wind energy with Xcel for multiple years. Last year, I wanted to try to cut back on spending and asked Xcel to opt out of it. They said that they would have it processed and removed from the bill a month or two later. A year later and with multiple calls and emails with Xcel, they still hadn't gotten it removed.

  I filed a complain with the PUC commission. A few days or a week later, I received a call from the PUC and a second call from someone higher up in Xcel. Both of them apologized for the problem happened and assured me that it would be fixed and backdated to when I requested to opt out of the program, but it might take a while because of how understaffed they were. I was happy with this outcome and was willing to wait longer.
  In July, a new statement came that refunded the charges ~$127, their math was slightly incorrect, but I wasn't going to raise a stink over a few dollars and was happy to accept it as resolved. Two days later, they added a second correction where they charged me an additional $281. So I ended up paying an extra $154 when I should have been refunded about $130.
  I've had multiple calls with them since then, an additional PUC complaint, and assurances that it would get fixed from Xcel, but no one is fixing it. Today, I had a call where they suggested that the charges were correct. They're going to talk to their manager more about it and give me a call tomorrow. I hope that this resolves it, but I've had the same conversations with people at Xcel almost a dozen times and it hasn't been resolved yet.
  I don't know what else to do when a company insists that their incorrect billing is correct and I can't get someone from the PUC to reach out. Do I do small claims court next? I don't know how to solve this problem and I just keep calling in every month when another statement arrives and the problem is still not fixed.
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  How outages effect people

  by Juliewicken , 8 months ago
  We have had too many outages in our neighborhood for No good reason. We all are wondering if it will happen again today and for how long. The first one lasted for days. I lost all my food in my refrigerator and my outdoor freezer. Thought about filling a claim so I took pictures and added it up to over $570 thrown away. I also had to replace the water lines to my refrigerator. Repairman said they cracked and when power was turned back. Lucky no water damage to house since I was home when power came back on and... Continue reading

  We have had too many outages in our neighborhood for No good reason. We all are wondering if it will happen again today and for how long. The first one lasted for days. I lost all my food in my refrigerator and my outdoor freezer. Thought about filling a claim so I took pictures and added it up to over $570 thrown away. I also had to replace the water lines to my refrigerator. Repairman said they cracked and when power was turned back. Lucky no water damage to house since I was home when power came back on and I noticed the water coming out of my refrigerator. Kids in the neighborhood ask if they are taking a flash light bath again. People can’t work from home because the power outage is a regular occurrence. Cars are stuck in garages and can’t get to where you are supposed to be. Houses dark and becomes a safety issue for elderly and people on oxygen or other electrical health equipment. These outages average over a few hours. Our security systems don’t record and safety issue put at risk. The last outage was from 2 am until after 9 am

  This is unacceptable and I know I am not the only one worried about wintertime. I have come home countless times this summer to a house over 90 degrees. Takes a long time to cool it down to go to sleep. What happens in the winter? They should pay for the generators going in the neighborhood since they are terrible at doing their job and keeping power in our homes. I have lived here over 30 years. This is terrible service. We ask ourselves wonder if we will have power today.
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  Their communication has been horrible

  by Do better xcel , 8 months ago
  Hi,

  Aside from the obvious frustration of it being so many outages, one of my biggest sources of anger has been the terrible communication around it and that's something I hope they learn/grow from in this. The day they did a planned multi day outage, we didn't know about it until an hour or two before they did it (for real) with no idea how long they were keeping it off. And we didn't even see their memo until the power was already off. That day it got turned off, our dog was in the house and we were not... Continue reading

  Hi,

  Aside from the obvious frustration of it being so many outages, one of my biggest sources of anger has been the terrible communication around it and that's something I hope they learn/grow from in this. The day they did a planned multi day outage, we didn't know about it until an hour or two before they did it (for real) with no idea how long they were keeping it off. And we didn't even see their memo until the power was already off. That day it got turned off, our dog was in the house and we were not, we had to get really creative on how to get the garage door open as our house door is really tough to open. Had I known a day or two in advance I would have been prepared for it- by not being out of the house so I could be inside and leave our doors unlocked to go in and out. Which also the fact that we have to reschedule our lives for their outages is a source of huge frustration in and of itself! Had we known ahead of time, we also wouldn't have bought groceries that would just spoil. It was frigid outside and this outage lasted DAYS. I'd never felt more uncared for by a service provider, and that wasn't even for a real outage issue, but to help with fire risk--however the neighborhood literally across from us had their power on the whole time, which also felt so frustrating--it would have been nice if they'd have rotated who lost power, if they were truly trying to ease fire danger. It also happens so often you start to think, "obviously there's something wrong with the equipment or the lines" because it's not happening anywhere else around us. If they had communicated to us the issues and how they were working to fix it, it would have made this all a lot better, but every outage (planned or unplanned) without any solid communication around it just made it so much worse. You wonder and have to think they aren't sharing because they don't want to have to fix it (or pay for the fixes). I hate that, due to the nature of the grid, we are stuck with them as our provider. it's truly been eye opening to me how badly not having a competitor is for this service provider. They can do whatever they want for quite a while, when they have no consequence of losing customers to better providers. And I'd say it's not just their lack of communication, but also the inaccurate communication they have, here is an example of the terrible communications: The most recent planned outage was supposed to be 12 AM- 8 AM (that's what they told us) and our power got shut off at 2 AM middle of when we are sleeping, so we all woke up right in the middle of the night and then it stayed off until 9:30 AM--they chose to do this on a weekday, where we are trying to get ready for work and have a baby that needs bottles heated. So their communication hasn't been accurate even when they do communicate, and the timing they chose really sucks. For this recent one in particular, it would have been better or them to turn it off a 9 or 10 at night before all are deep sleeping and have it back up before everyone's trying to get ready and needs to use their kitchen and bathroom. I don't know why that wasn't a thought they had, but because it wasn't, it makes me feel like they really don't care about how it's impacting us at all.
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  Xcel Lies, PUC Does Nothing

  by LawsuitGeneratorORMove, 8 months ago

  Even after the preemptive power shut down the PUC took no action against Xcel. Xcel has known about the problems in the Columbine area of South Jeffco and did nothing until news agencies were engaged. Neither one has the public interest at heart, entering this comment in hopes the same news agencies press the PUC as that's the only reason they will penalize Xcel. Or unless this becomes a talking point for the upcoming Governor election. For months, especially over the summer, we'd experience a long power outage a week. Once we had two in the same day. I would... Continue reading

  Even after the preemptive power shut down the PUC took no action against Xcel. Xcel has known about the problems in the Columbine area of South Jeffco and did nothing until news agencies were engaged. Neither one has the public interest at heart, entering this comment in hopes the same news agencies press the PUC as that's the only reason they will penalize Xcel. Or unless this becomes a talking point for the upcoming Governor election. For months, especially over the summer, we'd experience a long power outage a week. Once we had two in the same day. I would report it, call their number, was told I'd be contacted by Xcel management which never happened. I was told they'd work a chronic outage report that yielded no results. There's no other way to reach them and per their call center you are not allowed to talk to a manager and you can't escalate a repair. They'd give me excuse after excuse and I told them it was a capacity issue. Now Xcel told the news that they had some sort of limiter that was set wrong (a fancy way to say a capacity problem). Supposedly that was fixed. And right after that story was done and Xcel thought they were in the clear...more outages that take 6, 8, or 10 hours to repair. The Firestone Tire shop has to shut down and can't fix cars. The Dairy Queen has to throw out all their ice cream and order more. Another business owner has hired an attorney and this could become a class action lawsuit. Home owners have no power for critical healthcare needs, or can't work when they work from home, kids can't do homework. Jeffco Road department has to deploy generators to area street lights and their techs have to sit in their trucks the whole time. I've spoken to those techs...has Xcel or the PUC talked with Jeffco Road? Living in South Jeffco has become untenable, either I have to find $10k for a Generac (which a company has been advertising with signs at every intersection in my neighborhood) or I have to move. Xcel's net profits in 2024...$1.936 BILLION. And Columbine/South Jeffco lives in the dark ages and Xcel has lied. Nothing is fixed.