Xcel Energy is planning for another intentional power outage Friday in light of what may be more severe weather than what hit the Front Range Wednesday, officials said at a news conference Thursday morning.

As severe winds continue to whip through the foothills west of Denver, surpassing 100 mph in some spots, Xcel Energy President Robert Kenney said that crews are working to restore power Thursday afternoon before customers may have to face another shutoff.

“We’re trying to get as much work done as we can Thursday before the next wind event comes in,” Kenney said. “There will be some overlap between the Wednesday event and the Friday event, but not 100% overlap.”

Kenney added that he did not have a specific number of people who would face a second intentional shutoff on Friday, but reiterated that it will not be everyone whose power was intentionally turned off on Wednesday.

As of 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the number of people affected by the outages had dropped to below 40,000, according to Xcel’s Electric Outage Map. The maximum number of those without power Thursday was around 160,000, Kenney said.

Xcel to shut off power again Friday morning

While nearly 50,000 people were subject to intentional power shutoffs in light of severe weather conditions Wednesday morning, Friday’s could impact as many as many as 64,000, Xcel said Thursday morning.

That number is before taking into account those who may also be affected by unplanned shutoffs for downed or loose wires, Kenney said.

Slated to begin at 5 a.m. Friday, the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) will affect Xcel Energy customers in Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties.

Gilpin County is the only new addition to the list of counties affected by the initial PSPS on Wednesday.

“We expect the event to potentially start as early as 5 a.m. and potentially last as late as 6 p.m.,” Kenney said. “It’s going to be a longer event, it’s going to be more powerful winds, which will likely lead to more extensive damage. We’ve been saying we would like our customers to make sure they’re prepared for a potential multi-day outage.”

Windy weather to pick up again

After what was a windy morning, with some gusts forecasted to reach as high as 85 mph, the winds will die down Thursday afternoon into what will be a relatively breezy night, with average winds around 30 mph and some gusts as high as 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Those winds will pick up again bright and early Friday. The Front Range will see average winds blowing around 42 mph and increasing to the low 50s in the afternoon, with some gusts again reaching the upper 80s.

Friday night will see winds subside again to about 30 mph — and the low 20s after midnight — with gusts as high as 55 mph. Showers are also expected into Saturday morning, a welcome reprieve from the dry, wildfire conditions, with wind averages continue to decrease into the low teens.

The severe dryness, as well as the continued high wildfire risk, played into why Xcel decided to implement a PSPS when the winds rolled in, officials said.

Public spaces in Boulder outage area filled with people

Much of the Boulder area was still powerless Thursday morning, and cafes in central Boulder were packed to the brim with people looking for places to work remotely.

At Flatiron Coffee, 2721 Arapahoe Ave., every table and outlet were occupied. A line backed to the door as people with backpacks and laptops came in, looking around for an available seat and place to charge their devices.

A block away at Alpine Modern Café, 1695 29th St., there was hardly room to stand and every table was taken up by people on laptops, trying to talk over the crowds in virtual meetings and work through the chaos.

Many crews had to stop working overnight

Kenney said at a news conference Wednesday that the near-400 crews on standby wouldn’t be able to begin inspecting and restoring the lines until winds died down, around 6 p.m.

What he didn’t mention was that those crews had a limit as to how long they could be working.

In an email to staff and families Wednesday night, JeffCo Public Schools officials said that Xcel had told them a majority of its crews could only work until 11:30 p.m. Wednesday and would resume work at 7 a.m. Thursday.

That estimate held true, with no reported restoration of planned outages until late in the morning Thursday, according to Xcel’s outage map.

In a follow-up email, the district theorized that the 26 schools shut down Thursday will likely remain closed Friday due to the second planned PSPS. More schools could be included due to a potentially larger area affected.

“Some of our crews had to stop at 11:30 because, as you might imagine, they had been working 16 hours, and for the safety of our coworkers they have to stop working at 16 hours. They have to get rest and come back first thing in the morning,” Kenney said.

Xcel says communications have been ‘frequent’ and ‘transparent’

Xcel’s Electric Outage Map was down Wednesday evening, starting around 11 p.m.

“We’re currently having technical issues with our outage map and are working to resolve them,” the company wrote on its website dedicated to finding specific outages and their estimated restoration times.

The outage map outage lasted until around 11 a.m. Thursday.

“We’ve heard the feedback and we’re working as quickly as possible to make sure that our maps are up to date,” Kenney said. “We’ve heard and seen exactly what you’re sharing with us, so I appreciate the feedback. Our tech people know (about the problem).”

Despite the issues, Kenney encouraged those in affected areas to continue checking the map for the latest outage updates and to give Xcel “some grace” and “some patience” for the malfunctions.

Kenney also said that he thought the organization had been effective in communicating updates about the power outages to its customers.

“We’ve been doing press releases, we’ve been doing calls two to three times a day with our offices of emergency management, who are then pushing out communications to their communities,” Kenney said. “I think we are communicating as frequently as we can and as transparently as we can. That said, there’s always an opportunity for improvement and I know that’s never going to satisfy everybody.”

Between 7 a.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday, the company released four updates via its social media accounts.

The first update announced the outage and provided a link to the PSPS map around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. The second confirmed the outages around 12:30 p.m. The third and fourth said that crews were working to restore power.

But Facebook users expressed ire due to a lack of communication.

“When are you planning to give those who have been without power since 10 a.m. yesterday any sort of useful update? Your outage map doesn’t work. It’s inexcusable to not provide an update to the tens of thousands of people who may be without power for days,” one user wrote.

Outages come a week after Xcel announces rate raise

Xcel, which operates in eight states, made an estimated $1.9 billion in profit in 2024, according to its earnings report.

Last week, Xcel warned customers of an impending major rate hike, submitting a proposal to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) for a 9.93% increase to take effect next summer. Small businesses would see a 9.48% increase.

The company said in a news release that the rate increases would help performance because “enhancing reliability and resilience reduces power outages and restores service faster, even during severe weather.”

The PUC approved Xcel’s nearly $2 billion 2025-2027 Wildfire Mitigation Plan in June.

The $1.9 billion plan includes mitigation efforts like moving 50 miles of power lines underground, rebuilding major transmission lines, keeping detailed track of aging transmission equipment, an expansion of employees and the use of drones to increase the speed of inspections.

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 by 2027.

Furthermore, the plan is also supposed to set clear guidelines for PSPSs, as well as accommodating the needs of critical power customers — including disabled persons who are placed at risk by power grid shutdowns.

Kenney addressed the plans to underground wires at Thursday’s news conference, but said that it wasn’t as easy as just digging a hole.

“It doesn’t necessarily mitigate the risk to do targeted undergrounding everywhere; it depends on the geographic location, it depends on the topography,” Kenney said. “We are doing targeted underground in some locations but that’s not necessarily the best mitigation everywhere.”

Resource centers remain open in affected areas

In partnership with the American Red Cross, Xcel has opened resource centers for those impacted by the outages this week.

The centers, which include access to phone and device charging, are located at the following areas, according to a Thursday afternoon news release from Xcel:

• Evergreen Library: 5000 County Hwy. 73, Evergreen; open Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Servicios de la Raza: 3131 W. 14th Ave., Denver; open Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

• Belmar Library: 555 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood; open Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Gilpin County School: 10595 Highway 119, Black Hawk; open until further notice.

Xcel Energy trucks and staff will also be at the resource centers to provide support and updated information to impacted customers.