DENVER, CO – Representative Judy Amabile, D-Boulder and Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder released the following statement today regarding the extended power outages to prevent wildfires in Boulder County:

“Boulder County has been the center of some of the most destructive wildfires in our state. Each time, our community rebuilds stronger than before. While we understand wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts are necessary during extreme weather, we urge Xcel Energy to construct a better plan for the future to prevent wildfires during high winds. Cutting power seemingly indefinitely with inconsistent and poor communication during high winds is not the answer.

 

Many of our community members have been without power for more than 24 hours and it was not always clear why some areas lost power and others did not. More than 150,000 Xcel customers across the state have been affected by this weekend’s power outage. Communicating with customers early and often gives them time to prepare for an extended power outage and eases  concerns only exacerbated by uncertainty.

We encourage our community not to blame frontline utility workers who are diligently and tirelessly working to restore power to Boulder County and other parts of the state. Rather, this request is to encourage the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and Xcel Energy to work collaboratively to come up with solutions to prevent wildfires during extreme weather that do not lead to prolonged power outages.

 

We have already been in communication with the Polis Administration and PUC and anticipate swift and meaningful action from the utility regulator. The PUC has further committed to hold a public comment hearing next week followed by an investigation workshop by the end of the month. A survey and comment process is available now on the PUC’s website at https://puc.colorado.gov/.

 

“While we’re grateful for the proactive steps taken to prevent wildfires in our community, we’re concerned about the impact of extended power outages on residents and businesses and hope our utility providers can work to find less disruptive solutions in the future.”

 

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