“What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

We can all agree we don’t like wildfires. But what’s the reasonable response to the threat? It can’t be to shut down the power whenever the wind blows.

After the last/first Public Safety Power Shutoff (2024), the PUC insisted that Xcel better communicate with its customers. The recent double voluntary PSPS outages shows that Xcel learned little and has done little.

With little regard for its customers, Xcel sticks its head in the sand. It has neither built the infrastructure needed or developed the communication skills to keep the public updated.

What’s missing?

First, there is no reliable information about what’s going on. Xcel announced Friday’s power shutdown would start at 5AM. Why? The forecast for high winds indicated a start at 11AM or noon. (And the forecast was right. Friday morning was calm and peaceful.) Then they announced power would not be back until Saturday 10PM (or in some cases Sunday or Monday). Saturday 10PM was still the announced power recovery time at 9:30AM Saturday morning. But at 10AM, my power came back on. Joy and disbelief ensured along with the thought that perhaps Xcel doesn’t know the difference between 10AM and 10PM. Or maybe their online notification of 10PM was just a typo. Reality ensued 30 minutes later went the power went out again. Without knowing if this is a new unplanned outage or a simply a continuation of the PSPS and someone had turned on the power “too soon”, the wait to power continues.

Second, there is no information about actual damages. We don’t know if there is a significant problem with downed powerlines littered across the state? How many lines came down this week? Where were they located? Are these suburban area lines or isolated lines up in the mountains? Looking at the bigger picture, how many fires are causes by downed powerlines every year? (compared to other fire sources, primarily human?)

Third, if winds from a first storm take down weakened tree limbs and power poles, should we be as fearful of a second round of winds, or assume the weak links came down in the first storm and sturdy trees and poles will survive the second.

Fourth, this is Colorado. Wind happens and has happened throughout history. Why do our utilities act as if they have no clue that they operate in these conditions? Why aren’t transmission lines hardened/buried, particularly in metro areas. Why is there no technology to identify if a line is damaged or down? Why can’t isolated problems be isolated so that large chunks of the grid don’t need be turned off? And when the utility does act to update its equipment shouldn’t it be addressing these issues. There have been updates in rural Boulder county over the last several years but each time Xcel merely replaced old poles with new rather than acting proactively to build a better, more reliable grid.

Fifth, if the problem is simply tree limbs falling in high wind, how about some basic remediation work by both homeowners and the utility. If power lines run through trees, let’s deal with the trees before the next windstorm. There are lots of examples along the major north-south roads in east Boulder County of trees simply hollowed out so the powerlines can run through them.

Sixth, Is the model for the future here that every Coloradan must assume Xcel is incapable of providing reliable energy and that every household in the state needs to buy and install its own backup generator? Isn’t the point of a electric grid/utility to avoid the total fragmentation of power?