Public Safety Power Shutoff

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  Unnecessary Power Outage

  by CLeeMorrell, 4 months ago

  The recent multi-county Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) came as a terrible surprise to my family. We had never heard of this, and certainly never experienced one. We are shocked at how it was explained versus how it actually happened. Moreover, we are surprised that the program was approved by the Public Utilities Commission in June 2025 but never communicated to ALL Xcel customers at that time. As a long-time resident and customer, we were never advised about this planned program, or asked to give commentary input, or allowed to ask questions.

  This particular PSPS seemed to have caused much... Continue reading

  The recent multi-county Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) came as a terrible surprise to my family. We had never heard of this, and certainly never experienced one. We are shocked at how it was explained versus how it actually happened. Moreover, we are surprised that the program was approved by the Public Utilities Commission in June 2025 but never communicated to ALL Xcel customers at that time. As a long-time resident and customer, we were never advised about this planned program, or asked to give commentary input, or allowed to ask questions.

  This particular PSPS seemed to have caused much more harm than good. Thousands of customers were without power for days or were at least threatened with possibly not having electricity for days. These customers lost income, had no heat, experienced ruined food, were unable to cook meals, some were unable to have kids in school or daycare, others were not able to care for elderly parents at home, etc., etc. Furthermore, it was especially harmful to businesses since it occurred near the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays and many businesses depend on high sales volume at this time. Individual residential households suffered hundreds of dollars in lost food and unplanned expenses to deal with no electricity at home. Many businesses suffered losses in the thousands of dollars. Not everyone could purchase or use generators or have somewhere else to stay. Finally, we found out that no compensation for any of these losses would be paid by Xcel Energy.

  We live in a suburban area with no above ground power lines, yet we were slated for the planned power turn off Wednesday December 17^th. We began getting warnings a couple of days ahead. Since we had never heard of a PSPS and it seemed that the warning did not equate to a definite outage for us, we weren’t too concerned. Despite a warning, our power did not get turned off December 17^th although neighbors a block away did lose power on that day and continued to be out when we all got a second advisory December 18^th. Since the first power turn off never happened for us, we didn’t trust the truth of the second advisory. Unfortunately, power did turn off early morning December 19^th and remained off for about 30 hours. We were told many different time periods for the outage to end and got conflicting communications about power being back on. Worst case we were told was that it could take up to 3 or 4 DAYS to restore power but thankfully it did not come to that.

  Xcel claims the PSPS decision was due to high wind and dry weather forecasts so as to prevent wind driven wildfires from down power lines. We know the 2021 Marshall Fire history looms large, yet to us who live in a community with underground utilities, surrounded by other communities also with underground utilities the PSPS appears to be overreach. The cities of Golden or Arvada do not have a history of any named wildfire event like the Marshall Fire. Also, winds over 50 mph and humidity of 20% or less, plus dry ground conditions are very eternal in front range Colorado.

  We lost approximately $335 worth of food. This is devastating to seniors on fixed incomes such as Social Security. We don’t own generators. Although we experienced some limited number of wind gusts on December 17^th, we had rather low or no wind for most of the power outage period of up to four days for some in our community. We are homeowners just trying to survive and our homeowner insurance deductible is over the dollar value of the food that is spoiled and they probably wouldn't cover it anyway.

  We are very worried and stressed about the next time Xcel might invoke another PSPS. We don’t want to purchase new food and have it destroyed again. We are also disturbed by the rather strange electrical grid areas for the outages. Some homes a few blocks away from us never lost power and, for example, King Soopers at Candelas always had power yet homes on all sides of them lost power. They were all in the same path of wildfire risk supposedly.

  Perhaps Xcel should have been working more in recent years to put more lines underground, replace old wooden poles with metal, cut down all trees near power lines, make grids into smaller more precise areas to minimize power shut off to unnecessarily large areas, harden the outdoor power substations, etc. It seems Xcel was emphasizing other things instead of standard infrastructure. For example, replacing all our meters with time of use capability when outdated power lines and girds were ignored.

  It appears Xcel has wasted money on “green” energy while raking in massive profits operating as a monopoly all while neglecting standard infrastructure. The winds we experienced in December were not more than we have had often in the past, and power was not turned off pre-emptively over those many years. We do agree with Governor Polis as he states: Coloradans deserve the absolute best in energy reliability, safety, and affordability. The recent PSPS was not a messaging failure but rather does not address inherent weakness and lack of sophistication in our local electrical grid. Recently I saw a commentary by Bob Frenzel, CEO of Xcel Energy, on Xcel’s participation in GridEx. This national exercise is meant to improve resilience against cyber and physical attacks on our power grids. I can only laugh and be afraid because Xcel cannot even protect our local grid against common Colorado winds.

  Electrical power outages are not merely inconveniences. They are a life, health, and safety event. People lose power for oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines, and refrigerated medicines. Homes lose heat in winter and cooling in the summer. Families on wells lose water, including water that firefighters may need. Schools, nursing homes, and public facilities cannot operate safely without dependable service and clear timelines for restoration.

  Please make Xcel Energy improve the electrical grid in Colorado and stop causing harm with Public Safety Power Shutoffs.

  Sincerely,

  Cynthia Morrell

  Arvada, Colorado
• Share There needs to be investment in hardening. on Facebook Share There needs to be investment in hardening. on Twitter Share There needs to be investment in hardening. on Linkedin Email There needs to be investment in hardening. link

  There needs to be investment in hardening.

  by ryanbing, 4 months ago
  My family was impacted by the first outage back in April 2025. My home was not directly impacted by the most recent shut off. However, I have kids in elementary schools and having Jefferson County not have school was a very impactful decision. I understand Jefferson County Schools did not want to have students inside buildings when the power goes out. I can appreciate their proactive stance. And I know much of this is out of their control. However, is very impactful for my work schedule our children’s care schedule and the overall stress of not knowing if the Friday... Continue reading

  My family was impacted by the first outage back in April 2025. My home was not directly impacted by the most recent shut off. However, I have kids in elementary schools and having Jefferson County not have school was a very impactful decision. I understand Jefferson County Schools did not want to have students inside buildings when the power goes out. I can appreciate their proactive stance. And I know much of this is out of their control. However, is very impactful for my work schedule our children’s care schedule and the overall stress of not knowing if the Friday update would’ve affected our house with the power shut off. Having been through the April shut off that went on for more than 72 hours we knew how impactful it would be on our home.

  
  

  I have a hard time with this Band-Aid solution of proactively turning off power without a hardening plan being published. Build a plan to address the largest and most common issues that impacted public services, public school and families and individuals -or this is going to go on forever. The PUC must hold the utility to account to strengthen and harden the infrastructure. Wires on poles along known or now twice-impacted wind areas should be a priority to quickly expedite hardening of structure, burying of transmission, lines, and supporting faster, response, and recognition time.

  The PUC must act in the interest of the ratepayers and advocate, or require, this utility to solve this problem. Allowing proactive shut offs to limit liability concerns is incredibly impactful on its customers. It only benefits the utility and their profits.
  
  

  
  

  
  
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  person with disability

  by mtngirl, 4 months ago
  Hello

  It was 24 degrees and the power was out, although I was fine with building a fire, my tenants who are older were not ok. He had a stroke several years back and lives in a lift chair. The power went out and he was stuck upright in his chair. This is the only way he can get up. Refrigerated medications were ruined, food was ruined and no one had heat. We should be reimbursed for all the food we had to toss.

  What steps is Excel taking to be proactive for the next power outage?

  Hello

  It was 24 degrees and the power was out, although I was fine with building a fire, my tenants who are older were not ok. He had a stroke several years back and lives in a lift chair. The power went out and he was stuck upright in his chair. This is the only way he can get up. Refrigerated medications were ruined, food was ruined and no one had heat. We should be reimbursed for all the food we had to toss.

  What steps is Excel taking to be proactive for the next power outage?
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  Let’s Organize for a Better Way

  by NicoleN987, 4 months ago

  I lived blocks away from the power shut off locations. I was greatly relieved to have kept my power but held so much empathy for my neighbors in walking distance who did not have power.

  
  Throughout this experience, I felt emotional for those directly effected and after reading through some of these stories I am so very sad for their experiences.
  
  Our children missed half a week of school due to the power being shut off. The issue being, once the power is off - it takes days to be turned back on. Hardly a whisper of wind in our... Continue reading

  I lived blocks away from the power shut off locations. I was greatly relieved to have kept my power but held so much empathy for my neighbors in walking distance who did not have power.

  
  Throughout this experience, I felt emotional for those directly effected and after reading through some of these stories I am so very sad for their experiences.
  
  Our children missed half a week of school due to the power being shut off. The issue being, once the power is off - it takes days to be turned back on. Hardly a whisper of wind in our area. I’m actually awake in the middle of the night because the wind has been blowing harder tonight than it was when they shut off the power, at least in our area of Morrison.
  
  Now, we struggle with the idea of losing power in the future, the cost of this implication and the poor businesses who suffer because of this. Our children will go without school and having unexpected breaks and those of us who work will just need to deal with the days the children are not in school, even without the presence of wind as we wait for power to come back.
  
  The threat of fire, wind and dry climates will only presumably get worse. This can’t be the only answer. Utility companies should consider this a last option only and be penalized when choosing this option over updated infrastructure.
  
  Tax payers should not foot the bill either. It would seem like there is pressure for the government to step in and pay for this. There should be a better solution than making the public pay for updated infrastructure.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  Suffering from shutdown

  by Serena1970, 4 months ago
  I’m now suffering anxiety like a PSTD victim since the outage. Every time there is wind or a red flag notice I worry about another power shutdown. The last one cost me five days in a hotel, loss of food getting thrown out and loss of work because I work from home. I ended up getting sick during this time and had to go to urgent care. I wish someone could assure me that I am safe in my home because I’m am living in fear.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  I’m now suffering anxiety like a PSTD victim since the outage. Every time there is wind or a red flag notice I worry about another power shutdown. The last one cost me five days in a hotel, loss of food getting thrown out and loss of work because I work from home. I ended up getting sick during this time and had to go to urgent care. I wish someone could assure me that I am safe in my home because I’m am living in fear.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  There Has to Be a Better Way

  by Frustrated in Four Mile, 4 months ago

  I was out of power for six days. When Xcel finally tried to restore my power, ten minutes after the power came back on I heard my neighbor shouting that there was a fire and I looked out my window and saw flames. I immediately grabbed my dog, jumped in my car and evacuated from what ended up being a three-acre fire on Wild Turkey Trail off Four Mile Canyon. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was the single most stressful event of my life. This came after six days of having no power and the daily struggles that... Continue reading

  I was out of power for six days. When Xcel finally tried to restore my power, ten minutes after the power came back on I heard my neighbor shouting that there was a fire and I looked out my window and saw flames. I immediately grabbed my dog, jumped in my car and evacuated from what ended up being a three-acre fire on Wild Turkey Trail off Four Mile Canyon. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was the single most stressful event of my life. This came after six days of having no power and the daily struggles that caused: figuring out how to feed my family, keep my house warm, and obtain safe drinking water, while still working a full-time job. I share this story so the PUC and Xcel are reminded that there are very real consequences to the decisions they make. While I understand Xcel doesn't have control over every factor that led to this situation, there has to be a better way to provide energy to your customers in the face of a changing climate.
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  psps

  by senior, 4 months ago

  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... Continue reading

  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??
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  XCEL - a '3rd world' utility

  by JGraham, 4 months ago

  I am absolutely furious at Xcel which is responsible for:

  1) Starting the Marshall fire, along with a supporting role from a Cult

  2) Apparently not building the electrical infrastructure to a level that would be adequate to deal with wind levels that REGULARLY occur on an annual basis - as they have for hundreds of years!

  3) Using the winds as an excuse to shut down electricity to shield themselves from potential $ liability - without any regard for the massive costs and disruption they inflict on their victims (aka customers).

  4) Using the outages to push for electricity... Continue reading

  I am absolutely furious at Xcel which is responsible for:

  1) Starting the Marshall fire, along with a supporting role from a Cult

  2) Apparently not building the electrical infrastructure to a level that would be adequate to deal with wind levels that REGULARLY occur on an annual basis - as they have for hundreds of years!

  3) Using the winds as an excuse to shut down electricity to shield themselves from potential $ liability - without any regard for the massive costs and disruption they inflict on their victims (aka customers).

  4) Using the outages to push for electricity rate increases. The latest is asking for TWO gas rate increases in a single quarter. Needing to do so speaks both to their chaotic operations, as well as their greed and arrogance. WHAT BUSINESS PROPOSES RAISING RATES ON ITS CUSTOMERS TWICE IN A SINGLE QUARTER!?

  5) Shutting down electrical service for some mountain consumers - yet taking over a WEEK(!) to restore their power.

  6) Providing electrical services with regular blackouts with little accurate communication, that make me feel like I'm living in a 3rd world country.
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  Billing for December is Incorrect

  by gbsilver, 4 months ago

  While reviewing the Xcel app for usage today, it showed 1,858 kwh for December (including the period of the outages). Our previous year's usage for the same period was ~600 kwh. I called Xcel and they said that it 'seems' that the solar power generated by our home solar system was not deducted for December this year. Our solar system generated ~400 kwh in November. So that brings the power billed by Xcel down to ~ 1,460 kwh, which is still about 2.4X our previous year's usage in the same period. I called Xcel and they gave me a a... Continue reading

  While reviewing the Xcel app for usage today, it showed 1,858 kwh for December (including the period of the outages). Our previous year's usage for the same period was ~600 kwh. I called Xcel and they said that it 'seems' that the solar power generated by our home solar system was not deducted for December this year. Our solar system generated ~400 kwh in November. So that brings the power billed by Xcel down to ~ 1,460 kwh, which is still about 2.4X our previous year's usage in the same period. I called Xcel and they gave me a a credit for my last bill and promptly removed the data for December from the app - I can no longer see the data for December. They are investigating the issue. My concern is how I trust their data at all going forward. The meter should be 100% accurate. The numbers from the meter should be accurately represented in the app and in my bill. Not sure what to do, but I will watch for information from them and see how it pans out.
  
  My guess is that they estimated the meter during the outage and they did not estimate the solar. In addition, their estimate was incorrect.. I will see what they determine. It should even out in the next billing cycle. It would have been good if Xcel had told me about estimates when i called. What is still weird is why they would put an estimate in the app data. Surely it would have resolved itself when the power came back?
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  PSPs are not the answer

  by Amy in west Boulder, 4 months ago
  Given Xcel's recent settlement on the Marshall fire I understand its desire to avoid liability, but has anyone calculated the costs of a preemptive shutdown to those in the PSP areas? Those costs should be weighed against Xcel's potential liability. Not only did many small businesses lose revenue, but many residents in the shutdown area missed work, had to replace spoiled food, cancelled holiday plans and spent long December nights in total darkness with no way to heat our homes or make warm meals. Nearly everyone in our west Boulder neighborhood is considering installing a generator or purchasing battery-powered backup... Continue reading

  Given Xcel's recent settlement on the Marshall fire I understand its desire to avoid liability, but has anyone calculated the costs of a preemptive shutdown to those in the PSP areas? Those costs should be weighed against Xcel's potential liability. Not only did many small businesses lose revenue, but many residents in the shutdown area missed work, had to replace spoiled food, cancelled holiday plans and spent long December nights in total darkness with no way to heat our homes or make warm meals. Nearly everyone in our west Boulder neighborhood is considering installing a generator or purchasing battery-powered backup systems to prepare for future outages - all at a substantial cost. The City of Boulder also lost tax revenue as a result of the mandated business shutdowns, which will be a blow in such tight budgetary times.

  Under current circumstances the shutdowns are understandable, but much more focus needs to be given to burying power lines ASAP so that shutdowns aren't needed. A couple of years ago Xcel actually raised the height of the powerlines in our area, subjecting them to even higher wind risk. Those funds should have been used instead to bury power lines. Xcel and the PUC need to focus on expediting the planning and implementation of undergrounding in high risk areas, rather than sticking with the current "many years in the future" timeline.