BOULDER, Colo. — The City of Boulder held a virtual meeting Thursday evening to answer resident questions about December's wild windstorms that led Xcel Energy to conduct two public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events.
City leaders said they were not necessarily defending or criticizing Xcel's actions, but providing more context into the utility's process and what work still needs to happen to prevent future shutoffs.
PSPS events are a story Denver7 is committed to covering. Check out some of our previous reporting:
- Boulder Chamber seeks solutions after businesses say they lost $25K on average from Xcel power shutoffs
- Customers push back on Xcel power shutoffs during Public Utilities Commission feedback session Wednesday
- When will Xcel Energy bury its power lines in Colorado?
December's power cuts affected thousands in the area and led to a frustrating week for residents, as well as businesses who were forced to close while losing thousands of dollars. Some properties went several days without power.
Boulder leaders said residents should not "accept" the current situation but should at least "understand" it, noting that fire risk continues to increase given frequent drought conditions during an already usally windy winter.
The meeting included a broad look at the intertwining power lines in the Boulder area's grid, explaining why some neighborhoods were affected and others weren't. They also explained how for crew safety, vulnerable power lines needed to be de-energized before severe winds arrived and even after winds subsided, damage inspections needed to take place before power could be restored.
The presentation also took a closer look at the areas on the edge of the urban area affected by the PSPS events, and what work is planned or in progress to harden the power grid. Several areas are seeing either plans for undergrounding power liens or rebuilding them with steel poles or non-sparking equipment.
Xcel’s Wildlife Mitigation Plan between 2025 and 2027 accounts for roughly $2 billion worth of those improvements. Boulder leaders estimated during the meeting that a large slice of that—perhaps close to a billion—is earmarked for the Boulder area.
Those leaders also clarified that Xcel has more work to do, and correcting more than a century of decisions does not happen overnight.
"We are in for some potentially tough times for a little while here, change is gonna take a couple of years for these construction projects to happen," said Carolyn Elam, the City of Boulder's Sustainability Senior Manager.
Friday at 1 p.m. the Colorado General Assembly's Joint Energy Committee will meet with Xcel, members of the Public Utilities Commission and officials from the areas impacted by this latest PSPS events at the state capitol. Business owners and residents will be able to publicly testify at that meeting.
