Appreciated but needs work

As I live in a very high fire risk area, I appreciated the preemptive approach that Xcel Energy took to shut off power prior to the start of the high winds. The work of the field crews and office staff is highly respected. That being said, there is improvement that needs to be done.

1. I received a “warning” that my power was going to be shut off 15 minutes before the actual shut off time. Customers need more time than that.

2. I received multiple messages that my power had been restored when it was not. Because I have 2 accounts with Xcel, I could not simply reply to the text with “OUT”. I was told I needed to go online to report the outage. I have little to no cell coverage at my house, so I was forced to drive 5 miles away in order to make sure that Xcel knew that I still had no power. There should be a way for me to enter the street number of the property I am referencing so I can communicate via text.

3. When speaking with an Xcel representative on the phone to find out the status of the outage, there was no record that my power was out. Other homes in the area showed no power, but not my house. There was also no reason stated for the outage.

4. The extended outage that lasted 49 hours was due to a tree that fell on a power line on a neighbor’s property. This has happened multiple times on this person’s property. (S)he refuses to take down trees that are too close to power lines. Xcel has preemptively taken trees down on my property that were too close to power lines. Why haven’t they done this on my neighbor’s property? Had Xcel not shut off the power prior to this tree fall, a fire could easily have started. Who can I contact to file a complaint against this neighbor who could ultimately be the cause of my neighborhood burning down? Will Xcel please take down trees and trim branches on this property?

So yes. I truly appreciate Xcel’s intentions. I also believe that they have more work to do to communicate effectively with their customers and prevent potential disasters from occurring.

P.S. Question: Why are my neighbors across the street on a different power line? There are 11 houses on my very short road. There are at least 3 different power lines. 7/11 houses had power turned on 24 hours prior to mine and 3 other houses. As mentioned above, this was due to the downed tree on another property on another road. I’m just curious why there are so many different power lines. Also, 9 times out of 10 my power will go out, but the house across the street will not lose power. Why? Is there another reason outside of the irresponsible neighbor who refuses to mitigate his property to reduce fire risk? Thank you.