BOULDER, Colo. — The city of Boulder wants Xcel Energy investigated for mailers sent by a third-party company that Xcel partners with.
HomeServe offers warranty coverage for equipment that could be the property owner's responsibility.
The city of Boulder asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to investigate Xcel and HomeServe for “predatory practices.”
“We certainly heard from a lot of community members about asking if it was legitimate, expressing their concern about receiving the letter, wondering if they should sign up or enroll because they were afraid about future outages,” Carolyn Elam, Boulder’s Sustainability Senior Manager, said.
These are the same HomeServe mailers customers talked with 9NEWS about in April, questioning their legitimacy.
As part of the PUC investigation into the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) in April, Boulder brought to the PUC’s attention, the mailers sent by HomeServe. Boulder said they were mailed within days of the PSPS in April and again after nearby wildfires in August.
“Boulder would like to take this opportunity to express concern to the Commission about what Boulder considers to be predatory practices by HomeServe USA Repair Management Corporation (“HomeServe”) who purport to have entered into agreement with Xcel Energy to market insurance coverage for exterior electrical infrastructure to Xcel Energy’s customers, including customers of their Colorado operating company, Public Service,” the city said in the PUC filing.
“Particularly so close on the heels of this proactive power shut-off was really concerning,” Elam said. “In our view, and certainly my view particularly, I think that's certainly verging on a pretty aggressive approach, and we are concerned about that.”
In response to the PUC, Xcel said:
“The Company understands that Boulder has raised certain concerns and has speculated on purported business practices in this proceeding regarding mailings from HomeServe USA Repair Management Corporation (“HomeServe”). The Company disagrees with Boulder’s characterizations. Public Service understands that mailings to customers from HomeServe following the severe weather event were coincidental in nature only. There is thus not a basis to Boulder’s allegations.”
“When it's so close on the heels, and twice on the heels of customers in our community in particular, experiencing pretty substantially impactful outages, it was very concerning for us,” Elam said. “I don't know if it was intentional. I think it was certainly bad judgment.”
In an emailed statement to 9NEWS, an Xcel spokesman said, in part, “The planned HomeServe mailings were unrelated to the timing of the outage events, and mailings are scheduled months in advance before they hit a customer’s mailbox. The HomeServe and Xcel Energy teams are working together to more closely monitor marketing mailing dates to pause, delay or move if it makes sense to do so.”
A HomeServe spokesman also said the timing was coincidental.
“From time to time, customers will get information in the mail from HomeServe about these service plans. These mailings are scheduled months in advance and their arrival in customer homes is purely coincidental to any other local activities or weather events that may occur,” a HomeServe spokesman said.
The PUC does not regulate HomeServe as it is not a public utility. However, a spokeswoman for the PUC said that state regulators ensure that customers do not subsidize HomeServe.
“Certainly, our residents need to know that they in fact are responsible um for some of the utility infrastructure,” Elam said. “If we're trying to deliver a positive message to customers about their responsibility is to encourage them to check with their home insurance provider, their agent that they use for their regular home insurance policy, to understand what is or isn't covered and then make informed decisions.”
The simple way to think about responsibility is that Xcel is responsible for the equipment from your meter on your home out to the pole, and the homeowner is responsible for issues from the meter into the home. However, if something your tree branch falls onto a line causing damage outside the home, it could be your responsibility.
It is best to check with your insurance first to see if you are covered or could use additional coverage.