BOULDER, Colo. — Xcel Energy's Public Safety Power Shutoffs last December disrupted Boulder businesses, residents and nonprofits. Now, the city is launching a pilot program to help nonprofits better prepare for future outages.
Under the Resiliency Hub Pilot Program, qualifying nonprofits can receive up to $50,000 for backup batteries to keep their operations running, along with support from an energy advisor to help evaluate options and guide organizations through the process.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Claire Lavezzorio reports on the new program
Harvest of Hope, a Boulder food pantry, lost a significant amount of refrigerated food during the shutoffs.
Denver7 spoke with Boulder's Sustainability Senior Manager Carolyn Elam Thursday to learn more about the pilot program.
"We're really seeing this grant program as protecting those service providers from those types of losses so they can continue to give back to the community," Elam said.
She said funding comes from taxes collected on solar and battery storage systems.
Businesses lost an average of $25,000 during the shutoffs, according to the Boulder Chamber.
Denver7 spoke with the Chamber's Senior Director of Policy Programs Jonathan Singer. He shared his hopes for the pilot program's future.
"We hope this works as a proof of concept to say if it's working for healthcare, food organizations, or other nonprofits, that we can expand that to make sure that all of the city can thrive," Singer said.
Nonprofits have until Aug. 14 to apply.
