State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun

In December, Rainbow Schultz was preparing for Xcel Energy’s announced shutdown of power lines to cope with high winds since her restaurant — the Jamestown Mercantile — had lost $8,000 in the utility’s safety shut-off eight months earlier.

Schultz was already reducing her supplies when she was told by Xcel Energy her town of 230 in western Boulder County would not be in the shut-off area and so she stocked up as usual. 

Still when the 112-mile-per-hour gust of wind came Dec. 18, Schultz found herself in the dark with a $12,000 loss.

“Five days of loss of business with no communication from Xcel as to when it would be restored,” Schultz told a Colorado Public Utilities Commission hearing Wednesday evening. “I know this might seem like a small number, but it’s definitely enough to potentially close my business and lose employment for my employees.”

The commission heard from about two dozen residents, business representatives and public officials and it received 4,000 written comments about the impacts of the December shutdown that left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without electricity.

The testimony is part of the commission’s information gathering to write new rules for so-called public safety power shut-offs, called PSPS. “These are really challenging issues, and these comments are enormously helpful and critical,” Eric Blank, the PUC chairman, said.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE COLORADO SUN