DENVER — Xcel got lit up by customers upset about the lack of notification for having their lights turned off.
On Wednesday, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) held a public hearing for Xcel customers to tell the state regulators about their experience with the purposeful power shutoffs a week-and-a-half ago.
On April 6, Xcel used a public safety power shutoff (PSPS) to proactively turn off power to 55,000 customers during extremely high winds.
In the days after the decision, Xcel Colorado CEO Robert Kenney acknowledged that communication could be better, in an interview with Next with Kyle Clark.
“We acknowledge where there's opportunities to communicate sooner. And we'll work to do that going forward,” Kenney said.
The PUC announced that 170 people had signed up to speak during the public hearing, along with 700 written complaints.
"Unfair and arbitrary seems to be the vibe of the day,” Ben Todd, a Denver business owner told the PUC.
"Throughout the outage, our neighborhood never even appeared on the outage map,” Nick Torres, a Boulder resident, said.
Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett told the PUC about a near-dire event when the city’s wastewater plant lost power and backup power.
"We faced the prospect of raw sewage entering Boulder Creek which would have caused a public health crisis impacting the downstream communities of Lafayette and Louisville and would have had a cascading effect on our health care systems and long-term care facilities,” Brockett said.
He said that the crisis was averted with 10 minutes to spare.
Several people asked the PUC about compensation from Xcel for lost business and spoiled food.
The PUC rules only call for them to listen and not respond since the commissioners act as judges when deciding future penalties or new rules for Xcel.
Those new rules will likely build off what Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison already have in place.
PG&E, for example, is required to give a first warning to customers two days before power is purposefully shutoff. Then one day before, a second warning is given to customers. If the shutoff is not canceled, customers are given a final warning one-to-four hours before it happens and then again when it happens.
According to the current Xcel Wildfire Mitigation Plan, Xcel did not yet have PSPS as an option, even though it was used.
“While the Company currently does not utilize PSPS, it is working to evaluate the cost and how a such a plan might be implemented in the future for our Colorado system,” Xcel wrote.
That same wildfire mitigation plan from May 31, 2023, noted that company executives went to California to see how PG&E and Southern California Edison handle wildfire mitigation, including their processes for PSPS.
The California PUC issues wildfire threat maps. Areas of the state are given tiers. Tier 3 is deemed an extreme fire threat area. Tier 2 is an elevated fire threat area. Those areas are likely warned that PSPS are possible given the risk.
The Colorado PUC will hold another meeting with Xcel about the power shutoff either on May 6 or May 9. The date will be determined based on the best option for the utility company and emergency management teams that will be invited to speak.
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