Common Sense Risk Mitigation

While we fully recognize the need for wildfire safety (especially in light of the devastating Marshall fire) Xcel Energy needs to improve how they conduct PSPS events.

Xcel's initial communications were vague as to if a shutoff would occur and when power might be restored. I am not knowledgeable of Xcel's electricity grid interconnects, but the shutoff areas seemed extremely broad yet had gaps where power was not impacted. This was evident in the Candelas and Westwoods areas leaving residents on one side of the street wondering why their power was out, yet their neighbors continued to have electrical power. In the Spring Mesa neighborhood there are no above ground power lines, yet power was shut off. Creating more precise shutoff zones would be beneficial, allowing power to flow to low risk (buried power cables) areas while shutting off areas with above ground power lines and a high density of trees. Also the timing of the shutoff events were not very tactical as power was shut off in our area 10 hours prior to experiencing any extreme winds. When trying to preserve food and house heat, hours matter. Xcel should also invest in more wind resistant technology to increase safety and mitigate liability while allowing residents and businesses to not be impacted by power shutoffs. We have lived in the Arvada/Golden area for over 30 years and have experienced wind conditions far worse than those experienced this week and this is the first time we have had our power shutoff due to wind.

A debrief meeting between the impacted municipalities residents/city councils and Xcel should be held to understand how power shutoff events can be better managed in the future to lessen the impact on communities while still ensuring safety.