Public Safety Power Shutoff

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  2025 Dec shut off

  by jim mullennix, 5 months ago
  Dear Sirs , Regarding the Dec 2025 power shutoff. The communication was terrible you would get a notice and then soon after you would get something totally different. I am concerned that the shutoff was unnecessary . The community that I am in has no above ground power lines so what was the concern? It looks like Excel was just trying to limit there liability. Causing residents to stay in hotels and throw away ruined food.It seem like some sort of compensation would be in order. I am hoping that every time there is a little wind that the power... Continue reading

  Dear Sirs , Regarding the Dec 2025 power shutoff. The communication was terrible you would get a notice and then soon after you would get something totally different. I am concerned that the shutoff was unnecessary . The community that I am in has no above ground power lines so what was the concern? It looks like Excel was just trying to limit there liability. Causing residents to stay in hotels and throw away ruined food.It seem like some sort of compensation would be in order. I am hoping that every time there is a little wind that the power isn’t shut off. Again my address is 24100 Genesee Village Rd Golden and there are approximately 600 homes in this community all of which have buried power lines. Thank You Jim Mullennix
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  Common Sense Risk Mitigation

  by Cycletime, 5 months ago

  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... Continue reading

  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.
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  Dangerous, Criminal Abuse of Public Service Responsibilities

  by WHY, 5 months ago

  PSPS last week was a massive failure of the stated goals and placed unreasonable hardship on the community and increased risk of fatalities and fires during the event.

  4 days of power outages in Golden due to planned shutoff of 2 PSPS events last week was a complete failure to eliminate fire risk from power lines evidenced by the fact residents and businesses were without power in many locations while neighbors across the street were energized with power during the entire PSPS and that there was NO WIND whatsoever during the second PSPS in Golden. Each PSPS required days for... Continue reading

  PSPS last week was a massive failure of the stated goals and placed unreasonable hardship on the community and increased risk of fatalities and fires during the event.

  4 days of power outages in Golden due to planned shutoff of 2 PSPS events last week was a complete failure to eliminate fire risk from power lines evidenced by the fact residents and businesses were without power in many locations while neighbors across the street were energized with power during the entire PSPS and that there was NO WIND whatsoever during the second PSPS in Golden. Each PSPS required days for Xcel to figure out how to turn the power back on. This was a completely unnecessary clown show. Any future PSPS will have the same result due to the haphazard power grid.

  Despite no wind, residents and business during last week's PSPS' were left with no heat, no food, no lights, no internet, and a lack of communication and emergency communication for up to 4 consecutive days or more. As a result, the community was forced to survive through unusual methods that run significant risk of fatalities and fire during high wind and fire conditions including hundreds of thousands of homes burning candles indoor, tens of thousands of generators running outdoors, placement of questionable electric cords across active roadways, motorists speeding through dark intersections, etc. etc. etc., etc., etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

  Continued PSPS events by Xcel will directly result in increased fatalities and fires in our communicatees during high wind and fire conditions. These actions by Xcel amount to reckless endangerment and willful gross negligence under state law.
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  Longer Term Plan - Not PSPS

  by A-A-Ron, 5 months ago
  I understand Xcel's turning off the power. We had power lines snapped in half near our house and a fire in those high winds would be devastating. However, PSPSes can not be the long-term plan. Shutting off power to thousands of customers for days isn't a solution.

  
  

  We need to have the right infrastructure (i.e. buried power lines) that doesn't necessitate shutoff in high wind areas like along the foothills. We will get high winds again. My wife couldn't work for three days (she runs a small business out of our house) and I had to leave town to get... Continue reading

  I understand Xcel's turning off the power. We had power lines snapped in half near our house and a fire in those high winds would be devastating. However, PSPSes can not be the long-term plan. Shutting off power to thousands of customers for days isn't a solution.

  
  

  We need to have the right infrastructure (i.e. buried power lines) that doesn't necessitate shutoff in high wind areas like along the foothills. We will get high winds again. My wife couldn't work for three days (she runs a small business out of our house) and I had to leave town to get somewhere with internet so that I could work. Our small businesses were severely impacted at a time, the holidays, when they should be incredibly busy, many people had all of their food go bad. The economic impact is in the tens of millions of dollars. We can do better.
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  The What Ifs... vs the inconvenience.

  by Cfaulky, 5 months ago

  A prophylactic power outage, while inconvenient, is far better than the devastating alternative of a wildfire destroying an entire neighborhood. Temporarily shutting off electricity during extreme fire conditions can prevent downed lines or faulty equipment from sparking a blaze that spreads uncontrollably in dry, high-wind environments. The discomfort of losing power for a few hours or even a day—no lights, limited air conditioning, disrupted routines—pales in comparison to the permanent loss of homes, businesses, and irreplaceable personal belongings.

  
  

  A preventive shutdown is a proactive, controlled decision rooted in risk management, not fear. It reflects a commitment to public safety over... Continue reading

  A prophylactic power outage, while inconvenient, is far better than the devastating alternative of a wildfire destroying an entire neighborhood. Temporarily shutting off electricity during extreme fire conditions can prevent downed lines or faulty equipment from sparking a blaze that spreads uncontrollably in dry, high-wind environments. The discomfort of losing power for a few hours or even a day—no lights, limited air conditioning, disrupted routines—pales in comparison to the permanent loss of homes, businesses, and irreplaceable personal belongings.

  
  

  A preventive shutdown is a proactive, controlled decision rooted in risk management, not fear. It reflects a commitment to public safety over short-term convenience.

  
  

  All of you complaining, it is great you still have computers to type on. They could have gone up in flames.
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  Keep our power on!

  by L.L., 5 months ago
  If the wind isn’t blowing keep our power on! do not shut off our power if we don’t have wind. Do not shut off our power 8 hours prior to a forecasted wind event that never happens! Reinforce the grid or bury the power lines. This entire episode was unnecessary and shows your incompetence as a power supplier.

  If the wind isn’t blowing keep our power on! do not shut off our power if we don’t have wind. Do not shut off our power 8 hours prior to a forecasted wind event that never happens! Reinforce the grid or bury the power lines. This entire episode was unnecessary and shows your incompetence as a power supplier.
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  Poor Communication During Extended Outages

  by TeresaC, 5 months ago
  I understand taking precautions to prevent wildfire and I was supportive of the PSPS shutdown. However, I feel that Xcel failed to set appropriate expectations for the extent of potential outages and communicated poorly with customers as events unfolded.

  
  We made crucial decisions based on Xcel communications about the timing and length of outages that turned out to be wrong — in some cases, off by not just hours, but days. Power went off without warning, in some cases. We received messages stating that power was restored when it had not been and sometimes received numerous contradictory messages minutes apart... Continue reading

  I understand taking precautions to prevent wildfire and I was supportive of the PSPS shutdown. However, I feel that Xcel failed to set appropriate expectations for the extent of potential outages and communicated poorly with customers as events unfolded.

  
  We made crucial decisions based on Xcel communications about the timing and length of outages that turned out to be wrong — in some cases, off by not just hours, but days. Power went off without warning, in some cases. We received messages stating that power was restored when it had not been and sometimes received numerous contradictory messages minutes apart. It was enormously frustrating to receive incorrect information over and over.

  My neighborhood in Genesee has buried power lines and received no visible wind damage. Yet, we were still experiencing outages on Monday. I missed work, my husband was without access to a needed medical device, and like many others, we lost refrigerated and frozen food. Had Xcel provided accurate information we would have taken steps to better protect our family's health and safety.
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  Proactive but Useless

  by nwinches, 5 months ago

  I was informed that my power would be shut off proactively on both Wednesday and Friday events.
  Power was not shut off Wednesday proactively, but was later off due to downed lines anyway.

  
  

  On Friday, power was proactively shut off, then during the event I received emails and text messages containing information that:

  1. the event was actually unexpected,
  2. it would be restored by 6pm,
  3. it would be restored by 10pm,
  4. the Proactive Shutoff event was actually expected but wouldn't be resolved until possibly noon Sunday or possibly Monday,
  5. it would be restored by 10pm Saturday,
  6. it would be restored by... Continue reading

  I was informed that my power would be shut off proactively on both Wednesday and Friday events.
  Power was not shut off Wednesday proactively, but was later off due to downed lines anyway.

  
  

  On Friday, power was proactively shut off, then during the event I received emails and text messages containing information that:

  1. the event was actually unexpected,
  2. it would be restored by 6pm,
  3. it would be restored by 10pm,
  4. the Proactive Shutoff event was actually expected but wouldn't be resolved until possibly noon Sunday or possibly Monday,
  5. it would be restored by 10pm Saturday,
  6. it would be restored by 6:45pm Friday,
  7. our prices were increasing,
  8. our usage had increased,
  9. power had been restored,
  10. the Proactive shutoff would be resolved by Sunday at noon,
  11. power had been restored.

  Power was restored Saturday around 7pm. During the event, I referred to the outage map multiple times. At the top was an error message stating "We're currently having technical issues with our outage map."
  
  Compared to April, there was much more proactive communication, but it was so inconsistent as to be useless.
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  Six Days without power

  by Marba, 5 months ago

  I would like to say that I support the decision to turn off power up in my foothills neighborhood on Wednesday. Then the power was back on Thursday at 6:00 pm for 5 hours. The Friday winds were the worst that I have seen in 48 years up here. Lines down, trees falling into houses and terrifying noise were justification for turning off the power. I did not have any communication with Excel due to no service on my phone. In talking to the different companies working to restore power there was a common thread. There was a lack of... Continue reading

  I would like to say that I support the decision to turn off power up in my foothills neighborhood on Wednesday. Then the power was back on Thursday at 6:00 pm for 5 hours. The Friday winds were the worst that I have seen in 48 years up here. Lines down, trees falling into houses and terrifying noise were justification for turning off the power. I did not have any communication with Excel due to no service on my phone. In talking to the different companies working to restore power there was a common thread. There was a lack of communication between Excel and the other groups working to restore power.

  I think a central command type of structure such as the one used by the Forest Service with a team dedicated to organizing the emergency response would be useful. I also think that an organized response to consumers would help lessen the anger when the 6 deadlines on Sunday and the two today were not met. Calls to Excel with actual people were confusing especially 15 minutes before power was restored. The rep said that restoration time was unknown. That was not helpful.

  If I could help get an organized response to the next natural disaster, let me know. I am thinking there will be more. Thanks for asking for input. Kind of brave after this experience!
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  Complete communication breakdown

  by gbs301, 5 months ago

  Early on, I was informed that my house was in a potential PSPS area. Later, I received an e-mail saying the PSPS was no longer in effect for my neighborhood. Then, in the late evening of Dec 17, the power to my neighborhood was shut off. I suspect this was a preventative shutoff, since they restored power many hours later, without the normal power line inspection they always do in my neighborhood after an unplanned outage. I received ZERO communication from Xcel regarding the outage, the cause (planned/unplanned), nor estimated restoration time, nor a "power was restored" e-mail.
  On an... Continue reading

  Early on, I was informed that my house was in a potential PSPS area. Later, I received an e-mail saying the PSPS was no longer in effect for my neighborhood. Then, in the late evening of Dec 17, the power to my neighborhood was shut off. I suspect this was a preventative shutoff, since they restored power many hours later, without the normal power line inspection they always do in my neighborhood after an unplanned outage. I received ZERO communication from Xcel regarding the outage, the cause (planned/unplanned), nor estimated restoration time, nor a "power was restored" e-mail.
  On an "unplanned outage" rant, another dig at Xcel is that they always take about 2 hours to send the inspection trucks to my neighborhood after an unplanned outage, even though there are trucks available at an Xcel electric plant that is only 15 minutes from my house.