The burden and risk is far freater than imagined.

This is an actual year world as in has happened scenario. This is what happened around the BrookForest area of Evergreen.


Turning off the power to an area as large as what Xcel did not only cuts power to homes and businesses but it also cuts power to things like broadband internet and cable TV. Now while most people consider those things to be "luxury services" this could not be farther from the truth. Jefferson county uses a phone application in order to let residents know of any dangers in the area or if they need to evacuate due to a wild fire. Most people that life in the foothills have they cell phone connected to the internet by way of their in home WiFi. Even if a home owner has a backup generator they still do not have internet at their home. This is because the broadband service providers loose power to the equipment that supplies those services. Now you are thinking no big deal right, they can use their cell phone data. NOPE cannot do that either. This is because not all cell towers have backup generators and the ones that do don't have an endless supply of fuel. so as the towers start to drop out the remaining ones pick up the burden. This starts a cascading effect on the data where the load simply becomes too large and the tower basically throws it hands up in the air and the data becomes so horrifically slow it is unusable and or it stops working.

Now you end up with the application that Jefferson county uses to inform people of emergencies becomming a dead stick. A person is not able to get online to twitter or to facebook which is where Jefferson countyalso posts notices of emergencies. No internet no way to monitor those things...

The above is a HUGE problem.

Next issue.

Xcel energy has denied over and over again that their power lines start wildfires. But now they are stating that power is being shut off to reduce the risk of wildfire. This November my honeowners insurance went from 3800 a year ro 9800 a year with the insurance company stating that fire risk was the cause. Now Xcel Energy is publicly admitting that their poorly maintained systems need to be shut off so they don't cause fires. Xcel energy should be responsible for paying for the increased homeowners insurance premiums people are having to pay after all it is their systems that poses a fire risk no? Their lack of proper maintaince and hardening of their systems is a major contributor to the increase in the premiums. The other side of that is the insurance companies now owe people refunds because Xcel turned the power off thus reducing the risk. Do you think the insurance companies are going to send anyone a check because the risk dropped? Well they should be.


Generators are not a viable thing to have at homes. This is because of the PUC's recent decision to eliminate the use of natural gas and propane in homes. This is the primary source of fuel for the generators. I don't think it would be smart for people to stockpile gasoline at their home and because of how widespread the power outages are traveling an hour to purchase gasoline to use in the generator is not something a person should have to do. Not to mention the state has been pushing to make internal combustion engines under 25HP illegal. They have already passed a laws where they are not allowed to be used on state property. Not even a lawn mower that uses an ICE engine can be used.

Xcel Energy is using the power shutoffs as a replacement for updating their systems. This should not be allowed if they are not activly burying the distribution lines. in 4 years since the marshall fire what has Xcel done to make sure that their systems cannot start a fire? They have only put wires underground in superior which isn't even where the Marshall fire started. Xcel just replaced the poles and distribution lines that run through my neighborhood. Did they put them undersground? NOPE. I can also tell you that the telephone poles don't go into the ground anywhere near what they should be. only 4' goes into the ground and the majority of the poles are located next to a creek where the ground is always soft. This is down BrookForest street in Evergreen.
In the 4 years since the Marshall fire Xcel energy has had record profits each year with the gross profits totaling over 32 billion dollars. Yet they are telling the PUC that they don't have the 1.9 billion needed to just perform maintaince on the existing system, no hardening of the system at all is being done with that 1.9 billion.

Xcel Energy has had it's insurance rates go up. They want to pass that additional cost onto consumers in a rate increase. This should not be allowed. It was their decision to not properly maintain and harden the systems that they own and as a result they should have to pay for that out of their record profits. The same thing goes with any money needed to get the grid into a condition where it no longer poses a wildfire threat. They have neglected the grid in order to have record profits year after year after year and decade after decade. Well had they taken some of that profit every year and put it into the grid to upgrade and maintain it the grid would not be in the condition it is in today. It is because of their poor financial decisions over the last 30 years that had caused this. Well they need to now pay for those bad decisions, not the consumers.

The PUC needs to mandate that by the end of 3 years every single distribution line in the foothills needs to be moved underground. While this is being done if there are high winds they will be allowed to turn off the power to reduce the risk of fires. Insurance companies should be made to refund any premium increases that are higher than what the CPI is for home purshase and home repair. Insurance companies should not be allowed to increase rates above what the difference in in CPI from one year to the next. Until the work has been completed to move the distribution lines underground Xcel Enegry should be financially liable. Things they should be liable for include but are not limited to lost wages, lost business revenue, spoiled food, damage to home from things like freezing pipes. hotel costs because of not being able to heat a home, cost for fuel for those people that have backup power generation. If Xcel Energy has not completed the modifications they should be fined no less than 100 million dollars for each and every single month past the completion date. That should give them motivation to not drag their feet and to complete the work by the due date.

All costs associated with the upgrades and financial liability will fall soley on them. They are not to transfer the costs to the consumer. If they had been doing what they should have been doing for the last 30 years it would have spread the costs out over those 30 years. Since they didn't they are not going to be able to. They put the money into their pockets so they should have it to use to do the updates.

If they are unwilling to do the upgrades then they can sell all of the Colorado electric services they provide to a company that is willing to do the work. It's an all or none. Fix it or sell and get out.


I am fairly confident in saying that the consumers in colorado have had enough of the corporate greed and we are putting our foot down.

--Kevin