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San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

San Luis Valley Faces Power Shutoffs As Drought And Winds Intensify Fire Threat

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy will implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff for some customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley on Wednesday because of extreme wildfire risk driven by strong winds, low humidity, hot weather and very dry conditions, the company said. The shutoff will start around noon Wednesday in portions of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, Xcel said in a Tuesday afternoon news release. Conditions are expected to improve around 7 p.m. Wednesday, with restoration beginning as soon as lines can be safely inspected. About 7,100 customers are expected to be impacted by the shutoff, Xcel said. Much of the region is in extreme to exceptional drought following a record warm and dry winter, accord...
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Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Xcel Energy Prepares Shutoffs In Drought Stricken Regions In Western And Southern Colorado

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado Xcel Energy announced that customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley should prepare for possible power shutoffs on Wednesday. Strong winds, combined with dry conditions and low humidity, will result in high wildfire risk. "To reduce the risk of wildfire and support public safety, we are planning for a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) beginning on Wednesday, April 22, around 9 a.m. MT for some customers in Garfield, Mesa and Pitkin counties, and around 11 a.m. MT for some customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache counties," the company said. Many of these areas are already experiencing extreme or exceptional drought, and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag...
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Planned Outages And Policy Goals Fuel Concerns About Colorado Energy Future
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Planned Outages And Policy Goals Fuel Concerns About Colorado Energy Future

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado I’ve lived in Colorado since 1970. And you know what Colorado had back in 1970? High winds blowing down the Front Range. I moved to Boulder in 1984 and have been there ever since. And you know what Boulder has had all that time? A freakin’ lot of high winds. I remember as a college kid walking around the CU campus after windstorms, stepping around uprooted trees and massive broken branches that made the sidewalks impassable. I’ve seen rooftop shingles go flying off Boulder buildings, signs ripped down, and semi-trucks overturned. All of which is to say that for the last 55 years I have personally witnessed a crap-ton of high winds in our mountain state. But only in the last few months have I witnessed our ...
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State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

State Regulators Confront Fallout From Xcel’s Wildfire Power Shutdowns

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun State utilities regulators collected testimony from 4,000 businesses, households with lifesaving medical equipment and the merely annoyed as they form rules for public safety power shut-offs. 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 wi...
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Xcel Wildfire Power Shutoffs Leave Boulder Businesses With Major Financial Damage
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Xcel Wildfire Power Shutoffs Leave Boulder Businesses With Major Financial Damage

By Anna Coon | KDVR BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR)— Dozens of Boulder businesses say they lost tens of thousands of dollars after going days without electricity during planned power outages by Xcel Energy in December, and the utility company says it will not reimburse those losses. Xcel shut off power to thousands of customers on Dec. 17 and again on Dec. 19 as strong winds increased wildfire risk across the Denver-metro and along the Front Range. While the outages were planned as a public safety measure, some businesses say power was not restored for days, forcing closures and the disposal of spoiled inventory. A survey conducted by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce found that roughly 250 of about 300 responding businesses reported being negatively affected by the outa...
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Xcel Warns of Targeted Power Shutoffs as Extreme Winds Threaten Northern Colorado
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Xcel Warns of Targeted Power Shutoffs as Extreme Winds Threaten Northern Colorado

By Courtney Fromm | KDVR GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) — Wind gusts have already started to pick up across the metro, but Xcel said certain portions of the state are anticipating strong gusts, which could lead to power shutoffs. “We’ve really been monitoring it, we have really seen an uptick in the forecast for the wind in particular,” Andrew Holder with Xcel said. Map: These Colorado areas could see power outages He explained they have a team of meteorologists who work 24/7 to make sure they are ready to go in any sort of weather event. He said the past few dry months Colorado has seen are no help. “Everyone that lives here in Colorado understands how dry this is, which makes it an extreme wildfire risk environment,” Holder said. “We have the lowest snowpack...
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Colorado Residents Push Back After Xcel Power Shutoffs Disrupt Thousands
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Residents Push Back After Xcel Power Shutoffs Disrupt Thousands

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado More than 4,000 Coloradans have responded to a state survey regarding Xcel Energy's Public Safety Power Shutoffs last month during extreme wind events and another 160 have provided written feedback to the state's Public Utilities Commission. Most expressed dissatisfaction with Xcel's approach on Dec. 17 and Dec. 19, believing the utility overreacted, and many complained about what they perceive as Xcel's poor or confusing communication around the events. "It was the single most stressful event of my life," wrote one commenter on the commission's website, who headlined their post by saying, "there has to be a better way." Another commented that the PSPS events are "creating unreasonable and unnecessary hardship for resid...
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Xcel Power Shutoffs Leave Colorado Small Businesses Facing Major Losses
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Xcel Power Shutoffs Leave Colorado Small Businesses Facing Major Losses

By Sage Kelley | The Denver Gazette Restaurants west of Denver are still coming to grips with product losses and future revenue concerns after power shutoffs last week by Xcel Energy due to high winds. “It’s like living in a third-world country,” Brandon Bortles, owner of Nosu Ramen and Abejas Bistro in Golden, said Tuesday. “We’re all behind the eight ball. I want to know, are we going to do this 10 times a year? What are we going to do in the future? Just shut down the town every day?” Xcel Energy turned off the power multiple times to at least 48,000 customers amid severe winds and extreme wildfire danger between Wednesday and Friday. As many as 160,000 customers were without power at some point, officials said. The initial shutoff occurred Wednesday morning ...
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Colorado Blackouts Offer a Stark Warning About the State’s Energy Future
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Blackouts Offer a Stark Warning About the State’s Energy Future

By: Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado For those of you who shared this magical experience, congratulations — you’ve now had a sneak preview of Colorado’s 100% renewable energy lifestyle. No waiting. No reservation required. For us fortunate 110,000, the reality of “unreliable energy” arrived quickly: The house goes dark; people get cold; refrigerated food and medicines quietly die; folks on home oxygen machines fumble around in the dark for backup tanks; no cooked meals; garage doors refuse to open; Teslas sit silently, judging their owners, and worst of all — no electronic entertainment. Nirvana. Absolute green, renewable Nirvana. There’s a certain poetry in chasing a wind-powered energy future only to be plunged into darkness by a little wind. It’s l...
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Colorado Law Shields Xcel From Most Legal Claims Over Power Outages
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado Law Shields Xcel From Most Legal Claims Over Power Outages

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Xcel Energy customers who lost refrigerated or frozen goods during the utility’s public safety power shutoffs face steep hurdles in recovering damages through lawsuits, given the limits on liabilities approved by state regulators. Colorado law and utility rate rules issued by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which regulates commercial energy companies, limit liability for service interruptions, even when outages result from proactive de-energization to prevent wildfires. Xcel Energy’s rate rules, issued by the PUC and largely upheld by Colorado courts, contain clauses that shield the utility from claims for power interruptions. Jack Luellen, senior counsel at Buchalter, said these rules mean the company is not liable...
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