Tag: Public Safety Power Shutoff
-
Xcel Energy power shutoffs to occur Wednesday in western Colorado, San Luis Valley
Xcel Energy will implement a Public Safety Power Shutoff for some customers in parts of western Colorado and the San Luis Valley on Wednesday because of extreme wildfire risk driven by strong winds, low humidity, hot weather and very dry conditions, the company said. The shutoff will start around noon Wednesday in portions of Alamosa,…
-
Xcel says $1.85B plan aims to make Public Safety Power Shutoffs rarer
—
by
Deliberately shutting off power to residents and businesses is a last-resort tool, according to the chief of Colorado’s largest utility company. The tool — called a Public Safety Power Shutoff or PSPS — has increasingly been used along the Front Range, which perennially sees strong wind gusts that are the main reason, utility officials say,…
-
Power grid shutdowns in Colorado bring protection — and problems
—
by
A downed power line in Sunshine Canyon in the mountains west of Boulder in December posed an electrocution risk to firefighters and bystanders after Xcel Energy re-energized it without repairing it, despite being notified of the break the day before. Then, local officials added, it posed a wildfire risk by starting a small grass fire.…
-
Xcel Energy prepares for power shutoffs due to high winds
Forecast high winds along the Front Range on Wednesday revive memories of the devastating 2021 Marshall fire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes when gusts downed energized power lines. Xcel Energy now weighs proactive power cuts to avoid similar ignitions amid dangerously dry conditions. The Marshall fire erupted under comparable wind events with gusts exceeding…
-
Xcel Energy shutting down power for wildfire safety
Shutdown will affect Adams, Boulder, Jefferson and eastern Denver counties Xcel Energy announced a Public Safety Power Shutoff for customers in Adams, Boulder, Jefferson and eastern Denver counties beginning around 11 a.m. Monday. The company said that “evolving weather conditions” threaten very high winds, low humidity and dry vegetation that elevate the risk of wildfires…