DENVER — Xcel Energy has submitted its plan to prevent its equipment from starting wildfires to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
The 104 documents uploaded to the PUC's filings search last week detailed the aspects of the three-year, $1.9 billion plan.
Part of the plan includes replacing tens of thousands of power poles, putting 50 miles of distribution lines underground and adding artificial intelligence cameras to detect wildfire smoke.
Unless you know the docket number (24A-0296E) and know how to use the PUC filings search, it is difficult to get the details of the plan that could increase customer bills by $9 a month.
“These filings are complicated. I think they should be complicated, especially when we're seeing the utility come in and ask for a lot of money, and we want to see a lot of homework associated with that, but there's also an obligation to help break that down for consumers,” PUC Director Rebecca White said.
Tuesday, Next with Kyle Clark asked the PUC why it was so hard to find details of the plan. A few hours later, the PUC added a summary of the plan to its website, in a section called “Key Issues Before the PUC.”
The information is under the tab “Energy Proceedings” and summarizes the plan Xcel filed last week.
“This is a large and complex filing that will be before the PUC for the next several months as we examine each request for approval and hear from stakeholders," the summary says. "Specific dates and opportunities for public comment will be determined as the full procedural schedule is set. Written comments may be submitted anytime through the PUC’s website."
“Just to give you a sense, we're going to be at this for around 250 days," White said. "That's the amount of time the commission would spend with a filing this big."
The PUC will get feedback from the public, Xcel customers and the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, which advocates for customers, cities, counties and businesses that will be impacted by any price increase.
“We have economists and engineers and certified public accountants at the commission that do this for a living,” White said.
Her staff will help inform the PUC before it makes decisions on what parts of the Wildfire Mitigation Plan are required, which should be modified and which should be tossed, which then changes the cost that customers would face.
“We're going to take the case on the merits of what they presented, what they've asked for, what they want ratepayers to cover and examine every piece of that,” White said.
Xcel Colorado President Robert Kenney told Next with Kyle Clark last week that the company would hold public meetings to inform customers of their intentions.
White said that the PUC would want to do the same, and perhaps, coordinate with Xcel ahead of those meetings.
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