DENVER — Frustrations and anger continue to linger surrounding Xcel Energy's prolonged power shutoffs over the past two months.
Xcel said these were necessary to mitigate wildfire risks amid dangerous weather, but customers got the chance to air out frustrations Wednesday directly to Public Utilities Commission (PUC) leaders — who oversee Xcel.
During the Wednesday online public comment session, community members, business owners and city leaders all shared similar sentiments. They agreed these had to happen to keep us safe in windy conditions, but said shutting off power cannot be the only solution going forward.
"If we're here as local communities to save lives and protect our communities, we have to be able to prioritize our resources. And we can't do that when the utility tells us they're going to trigger a mass disaster by shutting down our entire city and the entire front range." Boulder's Deputy City Manager Chris Meschul said.
Some of the impacts from the shutoff included business owners losing thousands of dollars in inventory and revenue and people like Jan Rose, who attended the meeting, being left in the cold and dark for days.
"If Xcel would put some skin in the game and take some responsibility for the fact that they are a public service company. I expect them to buy at their expense, without a repair charge, a fleet of refrigerator trucks and haul them into communities where they intend to shut off power, to save everybody's food," Rose said.
This was all part of Xcel's wildfire mitigation plan, which was approved in 2025.
But now, the plan is to take feedback like we heard in Wednesday's meeting and create new rules.
A spokesperson for PUC told Denver7 the rules will go into effect by the end of this year for all utility companies regulated by the commission, including Xcel and Black Hills.
Xcel Energy sent Denver7 a statement in response that said in part:
"We recognize the significant impacts Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) have had on residents, businesses and municipal operations, and we appreciate our customers’ feedback as we all work towards keeping our communities safe. We know being without power is disruptive and can be frustrating, so we take the decision to implement a PSPS very seriously.
Beyond the PSPS events, hurricane-force winds in some areas damaged power poles and other infrastructure, leading to additional power outages... Once conditions improved, our crews worked 16-hour shifts to restore power to nearly 350,000 customers throughout the week and weekend...
While we stand by our decision to prioritize safety, we acknowledge there are areas for improvement.
Our teams continue to review the lessons learned from these events and will work with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to address customer concerns.”
Prior coverage:
- Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission to hold feedback session on Xcel planned power outages
- Boulder's City Council drafts letter expressing 'major concerns' after public safety power shutoffs
- Some Boulder businesses lost over $100k in December public safety power outage, survey says
- Xcel Energy plans another round of power shutoffs impacting thousands of northern Colorado residents
- Five schools in northeast Colorado will cancel classes Friday ahead of Xcel’s planned power outages
- Evergreen seniors endure power outage with no heat, health concerns with a second shutoff looming
