Xcel Energy is asking the Public Utilities Commission to approve a $2 billion Wildfire Mitigation Program that ratepayers will have to pay for eventually.

The Company submitted an unopposed settlement agreement Friday for the plan that was hammered out by 11 organizations, municipalities and companies.

As part of the agreement, Xcel agreed to direct an undisclosed amount of money specifically for the City of Boulder to prioritize the undergrounding of multiple power lines and make “system resiliency” modifications to other Boulder-area power lines, according to a news release from the City of Boulder.

The company also agreed to collaborate with the city on “enhanced vegetation management.”

“This is a significant step toward making our community safer and more resilient in the face of growing wildfire threats,” Boulder’s City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said in the release. “I am proud of the work our city team did to ensure the voices of our community, and our neighboring communities, were heard and to help shape a plan that better protects the people and places most at risk.”

The company’s plan is a statewide effort to increase safety, improve response to wildfires caused by powerlines, and provide enhanced computer systems and mapping for emergency managers statewide.

This includes making an inventory of all power poles, their age, height and condition, as well as an inventory of transmission lines, and including the data in a centralized database that will be available to emergency managers.

Other commitments include replacing 198 miles of smaller power lines and keeping stakeholders updated on its plans for rebuilding major transmission lines, anticipated to be completed during 2025 – 2027.

Xcel pledged to giving statewide access to emergency managers to its network of Pano fire-detection cameras.

Closer coordination with emergency managers regarding “public safety power shutoffs” where Xcel preemptively shuts down power lines when conditions threaten to cause sparking, as well as accommodating the needs of critical power customers — including disabled persons who are placed at risk by power grid shutdowns — and prioritizing reenergizing those critical circuits, are part of the agreement.

“The safety and wildfire resiliency of our community is a shared responsibility,” said Chief Brian Oliver, City of Boulder Fire-Rescue Wildland Division Chief, in the release. “Being able to partner with regional organizations like Xcel on wildfire resiliency is just as important as the role the city plays and the role each member of our community plays in creating defensible space and hardening homes. These efforts also go a long way in assisting response efforts.”

The next step is hearings before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, with a decision expected later this year.