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Update 7/24/2024
As a result of the follow up actions to the initial power shutoff in April, the PUC requested that Xcel submit to the Commission a description of what immediate improvements they will make to customer communication, preparedness and coordination with emergency responders. The PUC has received this information from Xcel which can be found here. We are seeking public input by August 13, 2024. We welcome your feedback.
Summary
Over the weekend of April 6-7, Colorado experienced a weather event that brought wind gusts in excess of 100 mph in some areas of the state and sustained high winds throughout the weekend. The outages and weather impacts were concentrated in the northern front range. Over 150,000 people across 9 counties were without power statewide during the event. 55,000 of these were the result of an intentional, precautionary outage conducted by Xcel to reduce the possibility of wildfire. The remaining outages were either due to damage to lines or use of another preventative measures..
While power outages are a frequent impact of Colorado weather events, the April storm was the first time that Xcel pro-actively deployed preventative safety outages. In addition, a significant portion of the distribution system that would normally be set to attempt to automatically re-energize was not re-powered until visual inspection by utility crews. This precautionary measure meant a longer down period than usual as field crews had to manually inspect lines that had been de-energized. These measures are used in other western states including California and Oregon.
Please share your input and personal experience so the PUC can determine whether new regulatory approaches are necessary for precautionary outages.
Update 7/24/2024
As a result of the follow up actions to the initial power shutoff in April, the PUC requested that Xcel submit to the Commission a description of what immediate improvements they will make to customer communication, preparedness and coordination with emergency responders. The PUC has received this information from Xcel which can be found here. We are seeking public input by August 13, 2024. We welcome your feedback.
Summary
Over the weekend of April 6-7, Colorado experienced a weather event that brought wind gusts in excess of 100 mph in some areas of the state and sustained high winds throughout the weekend. The outages and weather impacts were concentrated in the northern front range. Over 150,000 people across 9 counties were without power statewide during the event. 55,000 of these were the result of an intentional, precautionary outage conducted by Xcel to reduce the possibility of wildfire. The remaining outages were either due to damage to lines or use of another preventative measures..
While power outages are a frequent impact of Colorado weather events, the April storm was the first time that Xcel pro-actively deployed preventative safety outages. In addition, a significant portion of the distribution system that would normally be set to attempt to automatically re-energize was not re-powered until visual inspection by utility crews. This precautionary measure meant a longer down period than usual as field crews had to manually inspect lines that had been de-energized. These measures are used in other western states including California and Oregon.
Please share your input and personal experience so the PUC can determine whether new regulatory approaches are necessary for precautionary outages.
Share Appreciate the proactivity but there was ZERO notification on FacebookShare Appreciate the proactivity but there was ZERO notification on TwitterShare Appreciate the proactivity but there was ZERO notification on LinkedinEmail Appreciate the proactivity but there was ZERO notification link
We live in an area that's been impacted by trees hitting power lines in the wind and starting a fire, so I was fine with the concept of preemptive shutoffs. HOWEVER we were unable to communicate with the people at our home in time to take steps to prepare for the outage which we learned about on news websites. No texts, calls, or emails from Xcel to warn us of the situation. Even though I contacted the house sitter as soon as I learned of the potential situation, the power was out before they could do anything. Since we're on... Continue reading
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My neighborhood is five miles past Jamestown. Our power was turned off preventively on Saturday at 3:00 pm. The power was restored Tuesday at 8:30pm. The communication prior to the power being turned off was adequate but the communication for restoration was terrible. We were originally told the power would be turned back on Sunday. Sunday came and went, with a voicemail from Xcel saying it would be turned on Monday. Monday came and went with no further notification from Xcel. The recorded message on Xcel's phone line said the power would be back on by 2:00 Tuesday. At 2:05... Continue reading
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Having lived next to the Foothills for 46 years windstorms are a common occurrence, as in winds over 70MPH multiple times per year.
If shutting everything off every time the wind kicks up is going to be Xcel's new normal we (PUC) really need to look at a different energy provider, or at the least fine Xcel for failure to maintain reasonable service to their customers.
Between incessant price hikes, and this latest fiasco I am completely dissatisfied with Xcel Energy's cost/value proposition for Colorado rate payers.
Power went off at 12:15 AM Sunday morning and came back on at... Continue reading
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We were without power for about 50 hours, likely due to damaged power lines and not a part of the planned outages. Being without power this long was difficult but my family's biggest complaint was the lack of communication. Compared to previous outages, we did not get updates on the situation as documented below for nearly 48 hours. Getting follow up messages from the company every so often acknowledging the situation, setting expectations for a long outage, and even providing tips for dealing with it (like getting ice for perishable food) would have been better.
My husband and I totally understand why xcel turned off the electricity, however the weather reports were advising of this latest wind storm days in advance and xcel gave on average approximately 3 hours notice to residents/customers, hardly enough time to mobilize to prepare for extended blackout. A map of the areas in the no power zone wasn't available until well into the blackout. Then after the weather event very little was communicated regarding a timeframe the power would be back on. Moving forward if this needs to happen again this needs to be communicated 24 to 48 hours in... Continue reading
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I was one of the customers who had to run for my life during the Marshall fire, so this was another trauma for me and my neighbors as we sat freezing in our houses with no way to communicate because we didn't have internet and phone service in my neighborhood is so bad , due to lack of towers, that I lose service on my street while driving home,. The only way to make a call from my house is if I have wifi calling on.
I got a call from Excel Saturday at 2:58 pm. I was on another... Continue reading
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We were without power from Saturday 3pm until Monday noon. We never received any communication. I read about the shutdown on the internet. We live in Boulder just north of Marshall. It gets very windy here. We understand the concern but there was no excuse for the lack of communication either for the shutdown or the return of power.
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During the 45 hours I was without power, Xcel’s website consistently claimed that no outage was reported at my address. When I reported it, the website told me to check back in 20 mins for an estimated power restoration time. When I did so, the website said no outage had been reported at my address.
Especially given the massive rate hike approved by the PUC, Xcel needs to invest in its infrastructure instead of exploiting its monopoly status with the nonsense it engaged in last weekend. It needs to reimburse customers who lost food, especially the Boulder food pantries and... Continue reading
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I was satisfied with the notification before the shutdown began. Communication after the shutdown started was poor. Xcel should have been able to provide a map showing where the power was out, updating it over the event to show where power had been restored. The "Outage Map" that Xcel provides is wholly unsatisfactory -- it shows geographically non-specific color-coded dots that hover near a general area of an outage. Xcel must have access to more granular detail in their back-end, so I'd prefer if it were made public.
Also, I attempted to use the address-specific 'Report an outage' tool during... Continue reading
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I live in Lakewood and was told by an Xcel representative that my power outage was not a part of the planned precautionary outage. I have experienced periodic power outages due to weather or other issues but in the 23 years in Lakewood, I can recall none going longer than 4 hours max. I don't know the circumstances behind the 24-hour outage (from 7 pm Saturday to 7 pm Sunday) and did not receive any information from Xcel. If the precautionary outage contributed to the 24-hour outage then decisions need to be reevaluated. The inconvenience as well as potential safety... Continue reading
