Hidden Agenda - Fess up and Fix it.

In 2024 I wrote to the chief exec of Xcel in Minneapolis - Robert Frenzel - to complain about the frequent power outtages...I never received a reply. I also wrote to the chief exec of Xcel in Denver - Richard Scharf...I never received a reply from him either.

This year they upped their game to tell us we would be without power for a number of days and put it in such a way that they seemed concerned about our safety. In short they were saying, "We're worried a power line will be blown down and cause a fire, therefore we're switching the power off to keep you safe."

On the face of it that's considerate behavior. But what they were really saying is that their infrastucture is not designed to withstand the weather in Colorado and so they're turning it off and you'll have to deal with it.

This raises the question that if Xcel's power lines are not designed to handle Colorado weather why did they allow them to be installed like that?

When they inform us that the power will be off for a few hours to replace / update machinery it's a pain. But you deal with it because you understand that they want to improve the service. Informing us they are turning it off for days because of the weather, indicates that the machinery was not designed to cope with storms which is a notable part of the local cliimate.

'Fess up and fix it.

I do 90% of my work at home. With a lot of extra cabling and a Honda generator and frequent visits to fill up my gas can I can make do. All the businesses who've had no power these last 3 days cannot do that and have lost business. This is a scandal. Messrs Frenzel and Scharf (or whoever is in control now) need to get on with their job.