psps

I am writing to express dissatisfaction with Xcel Energy’s recent decision to cut power to more than 100,000 residents TWICE, close to 30 hours each, within 4 days!!. (NO electricity for 32 hours starting 9:40am Dec 17 and for 29 hours starting Dec 19)

To start, is Xcel just mad because they had to pay money for their part of the responsibility of causing the Marshall fires?? So, they just decided “forget you all, we’ll just turn off your power and see how you like it!”

Labeling this as a “precautionary measure” does not excuse the scale of disruption or the lack of preparedness that led to such an extreme action.

This outage caused widespread food spoilage, financial losses, and significant hardship for families, seniors, and individuals who rely on electricity for medical needs. There were so many traffic lights out (completely black) in areas that still had power, it was very dangerous, and scary. Many of us were left without clear communication (would you like to see the texts I received from Xcel?), without support, and without any meaningful accountability from the utility responsible for this failure.

A two‑day shutdown of this magnitude is not a minor inconvenience—it is a breakdown in basic service that we all depend on and pay for. It is unacceptable for a regulated utility to shift the consequences of its own infrastructure vulnerabilities onto the public.

I urge your office to take immediate steps to:

• Conduct a full investigation into the decision-making process behind this shutoff
• Determine whether Xcel Energy failed to maintain or upgrade infrastructure that could have prevented this crisis
  • Aging dried out poles, etc
• Establish stronger oversight to ensure utilities cannot unilaterally impose such burdens without consequences
• Pursue compensation or relief for households and businesses that suffered losses
  • Will there be a tax credit for our direct losses during Xcel shutting off our power, “just in case something happens”
• Strengthen requirements for emergency planning, communication, and grid resilience
• Discuss options for an alternative power company to replace Xcel

Residents deserve a utility system that is reliable, transparent, and accountable—not one that leaves entire communities in the dark with little explanation and no recourse. I felt extreme anxiety, very stressed out and total discomfort!

PS: were you without power??