Xcel's proposed wildfire mitigation plan comes with higher bills, more preemptive shutdowns

Residents and businesses reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of food when the electricity went out, critical public facilities were affected, and people dependent on oxygen and medical devices that needed power were left vulnerable, people told the PUC.

More preemptive shutdowns are on the horizon for Colorado, but Kenney said Xcel is working to smooth out the problems that surfaced in April.

The goal is to provide more advanced notice for customers so they have time to prepare and take protective measures, Kenney said. Part of the proposed program will also help provide rebates for backup batteries for income-qualified residents who rely on durable medical equipment such as life support machines and ventilators.

To provide that advanced notice, Xcel will add hundreds of weather stations to get detailed information about weather patterns near power lines and equipment in Colorado, Kenney said. The company will also expand its wildfire risk team to include a department of meteorologists.

Kenney said the goal is to warn first responders and emergency management offices 72 hours before a potential preemptive energy shutdown.

“Then we have plans at 48 and 24 hours to be able to give our customers more precise notice of where and when we would execute those shut-offs,” he said.

Currently, some Xcel powerlines cannot be shut off remotely and require linemen to go out — sometimes in rugged terrain — to operate the breaker, Sherwood said. If the new mitigation program is approved, more than 90% of power lines could be powered down remotely.

“If we shut off power proactively, even if we’re able to do that remotely, once the wind event passes, we have to go back out and physically look at those lines, either through a foot patrol or through a drone or a helicopter,” Kenney added. “We can’t simply reenergize that line, because if the line was damaged during the wind event and you reenergize that line remotely, then you just created the very risk that you were trying to avoid.”

Kenney denied the updated mitigation plan was motivated by or connected to the 2021 Marshall fire, a stance Xcel has repeatedly upheld.

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said the wildfire — which was Colorado’s costliest, destroying $2 billion in property and killing two people — was started by week-old embers on Twelve Tribes property and a sparking Xcel power line.

The energy company has repeatedly denied fault, calling the investigation flawed even as hundreds of residents, insurance companies and retail giant Target file lawsuits.

“We didn’t start the Marshall fire,” Kenney said. “What’s motivating this plan is the fact that wildfire risk continues to evolve … and we’re taking advantage of new technology. The primary motivation is public safety.”

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