Xcel Energy's Fire Mitigation Plan update and future public safety power shutoffs

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission website, https://puc.colorado.gov/, states that Xcel Energy conducted a public safety power shutoff for the first time in Colorado over the April 6-7, 2024, weekend. Colorado experienced a weather event that brought wind gusts in excess of 100 mph in some areas of the state and sustained high winds throughout the weekend which precipitated the shut off.

Will a power shut off happen again? It looks like Xcel Energy is planning on it.

According to Xcel Energy's Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP), three of the five largest fires in Colorado's history occurred in just the last five years. Colorado endured two of the most destructive fires in that same period.

Xcel Energy's updated WMP, which it submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, includes a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Plan, an Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) Plan, and a variety of new, expanded, and more targeted programs, such as the deployment and expansion of new and emerging technologies and an artificial intelligence platform.

According to Xcel Energy, a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) can occur when weather conditions, such as high winds, cause tree branches or debris to come into contact with energized lines. This can result in damaged equipment and potentially start a wildfire, requiring Xcel Energy to proactively turn off power to targeted areas.

Over the April 6-7 weekend, 150,000 people across nine counties were without power during the weather event. At least 55,000 of these resulted from an intentional, precautionary outage conducted by Xcel to reduce the possibility of wildfire. During the extreme weather event, more than 600 miles of lines were proactively de-energized.

Before power was turned back on, Xcel Energy's crews were required to visually inspect the lines to ensure they were safe. A significant portion of the distribution system that normally would re-energize was not re-powered until this visual inspection occurred. This precautionary measure meant a longer down period than usual, as field crews had to manually inspect lines that had been de-energized.

Shortly after this major event, on April 10, the Colorado Public Utility Commission issued a news release announcing a full investigation into the power outages. On June 27, Xcel Energy filed a new WMP. The plan will be fully presented before the Commission, including parties' intervention, hearings, testimony, and decisions. The City of Boulder has sought to intervene and potentially may address several issues raised in the application.

The public safety power shutoff on April 6 and 7 impacted businesses in Niwot's Cottonwood Square shopping center.

Businesses on 2nd Avenue in downtown Niwot were not affected by the power outage, but several closed in anticipation of losing power due to messages from Xcel Energy.

Niwot Tavern lost power at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, typically the Tavern's busiest day. They hurried to close and prepare for a noon reopening on Sunday. However, when the power did not return by noon on Sunday, the owners distributed all perishable food items to their employees. Fortunately, thanks to their staff, no food was lost, but they did miss out on a significant portion of business on Saturday and all day Sunday.

At Niwot Market, Alison Steele received the call from Xcel Energy at noon on April 6 explaining the forthcoming shutdown, but Steele said, "I believed there was no way they were going to shut off our power, so I called the fire department and was told, 'They are going to shut your power off.'"

Steele further explained, "The power shut off at noon on Saturday (April 6), and we were informed it would be restored by noon on Sunday. However, it was not restored until 3 p.m. [Sunday]. We scrambled and managed to find a couple of vendors who provided refrigerator trucks. Staff salvaged as much food as possible, but had to leave the ice cream."

With a smile, Steele said, "There were no 'fire sales' on ice cream that weekend."

Steele said they felt defeated and lost much money due to spoiled food and missed daily sales. "Insurance will cover lost food products but not sales," she said. Her biggest worry now is whether it will happen again.

Steve Gaibler, owner of Garden Gate Café, located west of the Niwot Market in Cottonwood Square, said, "We lost some food products and had to throw quite a bit out. We also lost sales, and our employees lost wages."

How does one plan for a power shutoff? What options do residential owners and commercial businesses have? Battery and generator backups can be one tool in the toolbox, but these options are not inexpensive, and businesses with coolers and freezers have a higher load demand, increasing costs.

Watch for the next installment in the Courier exploring options available to businesses, and further updates on Xcel Energy's application to the PUC.