Needless Waste and Expense

We knew that there was a forecast for high winds for a couple of days before it started. Since Xcel did warn some people, I expect that they were aware of the forecast, and did some kind of planning to deal with it. We lost power before the wind started, so I would have to assume that our power was turned off as part of the preventive shutdown. Xcel must know which addresses will be affected when they turn off power. If not, they certainly should. With the forecast, planning and system knowledge, they could have warned people. in many cases, as in ours, they didn't. If we had had some warning, we could have prepared, rather than abandoning an unpowered house in the mountains in near darkness and leaving behind food to spoil. If it had been a bit colder, pipes would have frozen and the damage would have been much greater.

I have lived in this area for over 55 years, and we have lived at this address for over 35. We have seen more severe wind events. We're aware that there have been instances of wind-whipped power lines starting fires, and we're glad that didn't happen this time. But creating thousands of emergencies in the name of preventing one is dumb. There's an old saying - Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. In this case, Xcel actually created emergencies due to their lack of planning. We were lucky, we just lost some food and had to find a place to stay. Friends lost business. This was a mess. Shutting off power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses can't be a spur-of-the-moment choice. It has to be planned, and there needs to be a protocol to structure that plan. I don't know if the PUC has a means to control how this is done in the future, but it clearly cannot be left to Xcel.