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The PUC regulates Black Hills Energy and Xcel Energy, which both have Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) plans that have been or could be implemented, impacting consumers. PSPS events have planned outages for customers and may also have other storm-related outages.
PSPS events are implemented in order to reduce the risk of a wildfire caused by power lines or other utility infrastructure. The Public Utilities Commission does not approve or deny Black Hills or Xcel Energy the use of proactive shutoffs; however, the PUC does have an important role in ensuring that the communication, preparation and coordination of PSPS events is protective of customers.
The PUC is creating a new set of rules establishing permanent requirements and standards for public safety power shutoffs. Staff is currently working to draft these rules and welcomes input from Black Hills and Xcel Energy customers on their experiences with the most recent PSPS events. This information will help ensure that the PUC’s rules are comprehensive.
Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback through the survey or comment links below.
Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback through the survey or comment links below.
The PUC regulates Black Hills Energy and Xcel Energy, which both have Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) plans that have been or could be implemented, impacting consumers. PSPS events have planned outages for customers and may also have other storm-related outages.
PSPS events are implemented in order to reduce the risk of a wildfire caused by power lines or other utility infrastructure. The Public Utilities Commission does not approve or deny Black Hills or Xcel Energy the use of proactive shutoffs; however, the PUC does have an important role in ensuring that the communication, preparation and coordination of PSPS events is protective of customers.
The PUC is creating a new set of rules establishing permanent requirements and standards for public safety power shutoffs. Staff is currently working to draft these rules and welcomes input from Black Hills and Xcel Energy customers on their experiences with the most recent PSPS events. This information will help ensure that the PUC’s rules are comprehensive.
Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback through the survey or comment links below.
Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback through the survey or comment links below.
Have feedback for the PUC about a recent Public Safety Power Shutoff? Feel free to share here. Please note: This info will be public for other users to see.
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Share Wed. was good; Fri jumped the gun on FacebookShare Wed. was good; Fri jumped the gun on TwitterShare Wed. was good; Fri jumped the gun on LinkedinEmail Wed. was good; Fri jumped the gun link
I understand Xcel's need to turn off power to prevent fires and CYA. It must be hard.
Wednesday, they did a great job, shutting off power around 4:30pm within moments of the wind kicking up really high in Niwot. And the power went back on a couple hours later. All made sense.
But Friday, they really jumped the gun for Niwot! They warned us on Thurs they'd shut it off on Fri from 5am - 6 pm. And they did shut it off at 5am on Fri. But there was no wind. Not even a breeze.
Share No food no light and a newborn on FacebookShare No food no light and a newborn on TwitterShare No food no light and a newborn on LinkedinEmail No food no light and a newborn link
I gave birth last Friday. I am freshly postpartum, physically healing, emotionally raw, and caring for a newborn and a toddler. Instead of being able to recover at home in peace, my family lost power for a combined 72+ hours from Thursday through today.
I was recently laid off and unable to find work before giving birth. Because of that, we are currently SNAP recipients. We couldn’t even afford Christmas this year. Every dollar matters. For months, I carefully budgeted, waited for sales, and bought meat and frozen items in bulk to make sure my family wouldn’t go hungry. That... Continue reading
Share Elderly Parents Undergoing Chemo Treatment on FacebookShare Elderly Parents Undergoing Chemo Treatment on TwitterShare Elderly Parents Undergoing Chemo Treatment on LinkedinEmail Elderly Parents Undergoing Chemo Treatment link
My parents live in Clear Creek County, Evergreen off Upper Bear Creek Road. They have been without power since WEDNESDAY. I dont know if any of you know this, but in some parts of Colorado, people have wells for water. In order to run a well pump you need electricity.
My parents have been without electricity, heat, water and phone for FIVE DAYS. NO ONE CARES.
My mother is undergoing treatment for cancer and had a chemo treatment she HAD to attend on Friday. She is now back in her home because she... Continue reading
Share Restoration Times Misleading on FacebookShare Restoration Times Misleading on TwitterShare Restoration Times Misleading on LinkedinEmail Restoration Times Misleading link
Because your billion dollar company is too cheap to do what is right, this incident cost me over $1200 in hotel rooms and lost food. We thought the power would be restored at 6 pm Wednesday, December 17 and it was not restored until 12 noonish Thursday, December 18, 2025. I was scheduled for knee surgery on Friday, December 19. I had to book two hotel rooms because my elderly Parents (92 and 87) were freezing Thursday morning. No one was looking out for the vulnerable.Because I couldn’t trust your restoration time, I had to book a 3rd night and... Continue reading
Share Idea for a pretty quick fix to this problem on FacebookShare Idea for a pretty quick fix to this problem on TwitterShare Idea for a pretty quick fix to this problem on LinkedinEmail Idea for a pretty quick fix to this problem link
I think everyone can universally agree on four things:
No one wants their house to burn down
The PSPS was incredibly inconvenient, lasted too long and cost people a lot of money
This is going to happen again
It will cost billions to bury lines and Xcel cannot (or will not) invest in R&D for better technology and infrastructure that will bring immediately relief
With these things in mind, I propose Xcel begin a program that will provide people with solar powered generators for emergency back up in these events. Expensive? Yes. But a lot cheaper than a $640M lawsuit... Continue reading
Share Very disappointing - cannot become the status quo on FacebookShare Very disappointing - cannot become the status quo on TwitterShare Very disappointing - cannot become the status quo on LinkedinEmail Very disappointing - cannot become the status quo link
I had my power shut off for more than 24 hours twice within a 3-day span. This was incredibly disruptive to our work, childcare, and daily living.
This should only be used as an absolute last resort and needs to be able to be responsive to the actual weather conditions. For the first outage, there was indeed wind. But the second outage was 36 hours and there was ZERO WIND. This is unacceptable. Why can't Xcel control the system more actively and only take action when absolutely necessary?
And Xcel is doing absolutely nothing to help residents other than very... Continue reading
Share We Were Lucky There Was Not Another Marshall Fire - BUT Hardships For the Elderly & Poor Were Difficult on FacebookShare We Were Lucky There Was Not Another Marshall Fire - BUT Hardships For the Elderly & Poor Were Difficult on TwitterShare We Were Lucky There Was Not Another Marshall Fire - BUT Hardships For the Elderly & Poor Were Difficult on LinkedinEmail We Were Lucky There Was Not Another Marshall Fire - BUT Hardships For the Elderly & Poor Were Difficult link
I truly understand the reasoning behind the Public Safety Power Shutoff - especially for certain areas where there are trees and other easily flammable materials next to, or under, the power lines. I remember the Marshall Fire well, and also several other fires near and in Boulder.
But, Excel's grid is completely CRAZY. We live in "Affordable Housing" that is all electric, on 28th Street (US 36) between Valmont and Mapleton in the city of Boulder. Our power was off for 7 1/2 hours on Wednesday, 17 December. We had two brief outages on Thursday, 18 December. Our power went... Continue reading
Share A wake up call on FacebookShare A wake up call on TwitterShare A wake up call on LinkedinEmail A wake up call link
During this December 2025 Xcel PSP shut off it became alarming clear that there needs to be more public safety stations set up that have backup power to help save lives of the senior and vulnerable population. Also, we need hard wired land lines back for basic communication and emergency communication. If an entire grid is electric based, it is 100% dangerous and life threatening when that grid is shut down and people have no way to reach out for help (EMT, family or friends) and no way to use other reliable generators that aren't electric based to power vital... Continue reading
Share My Neighbor Ran Low on Oxygen and Died on FacebookShare My Neighbor Ran Low on Oxygen and Died on TwitterShare My Neighbor Ran Low on Oxygen and Died on LinkedinEmail My Neighbor Ran Low on Oxygen and Died link
I live on the western side of Arvada, and my power first went out at 9:40 AM on Wednesday, and was restored around 1:00 PM on Thursday. There was absolutely no wind for hours after the power was cut, and when the wind picked up at my house, it was probably three or four in the afternoon. The second time my power went out on Friday, it was 5:40 AM and that outage lasted until around noon on Saturday. There wasn't any wind for hours again after the power was cut. I was surprised how stressful the power outages would... Continue reading
Share Forced outages an outrage on FacebookShare Forced outages an outrage on TwitterShare Forced outages an outrage on LinkedinEmail Forced outages an outrage link
We have lived in the North Table Mountain area for 22+ years. Xcel turned off our power Wednesday morning, hours before there was even so much as a breeze. We’ve had much worse wind. But at least we had power. Over the next four days our power was off for 54 hours, putting us in the Dark Ages along with thousands of other residents.
Xcel needs to fix their flawed infrastructure instead of shutting down the entire system.
And stop wasting our money on PR campaign ads telling everyone how great you are, Xcel. Show us instead.
