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Xcel Energy outlines wildfire mitigation plan, warns public-safety power shutoffs are possible
Summary
Xcel Energy officials briefed the Lake County Board of County Commissioners on the utility's wildfire mitigation program including situational monitoring, enhanced power-safety settings, vegetation clearing and the prospect of public-safety power shutoffs (PSPS). Officials said PSPS are a last-resort tool and described efforts to improve customer,
Blair McGarry, Xcel Energy area manager for Lake County, told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners during a Sept. 23 work session that the utility is implementing a wildfire mitigation plan filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and is preparing for the possibility of public-safety power shutoffs (PSPS).
McGarry said Xcel has invested more than $500,000,000 in statewide wildfire mitigation since 2020 and has deployed new tools including daily risk modeling, weather stations, LIDAR and drone inspections. “Our goal is to ensure that no catastrophic wildfire is associated with Xcel Energy assets,” McGarry said.
The presentation explained how the utility assesses fire risk each day using wildfire modeling software (Technosilva/Wildfire Analyst), updates a wildfire-risk model as data arrive and pairs automated tools with 24/7 human monitoring. McGarry described “enhanced power safety settings,” under which automatic reclosing devices are disabled so crews must patrol lines before re-energizing them. That practice, she said, has resulted in longer customer outages in some areas this summer.
The utility described vegetation work that it said has expanded clearance to 10 feet around equipment in the area, and said it uses targeted undergrounding where feasible. McGarry described equipment-hardening work, meteorology and fire-science staffing, and the use of thermal imaging drones and LIDAR to guide infrastructure investments.
McGarry said PSPS is “a tool of last resort” but warned it is not a hypothetical: Xcel executed a PSPS in April 2024 on the Boulder foothills that initially cut power to about 55,000 customers and ultimately affected about 155,000 customers. “It is not a matter of if we execute a PSPS in your community, it is a matter of when,” McGarry said, adding that Xcel aims to provide as much advance notice as possible and to improve communications after criticism of its early events.
On communications, the utility said it will use local media, social media, press releases and direct customer contact (phone, text and email). Medically vulnerable customers will receive enhanced outreach and a 48-to-72-hour advance notice when Xcel anticipates a PSPS may be required. McGarry said PSPS events can last days and sometimes require crews to reach damaged lines with snowcats or other heavy equipment.
Commissioners and other attendees asked about likely outage durations, how the utility decides to operate enhanced safety settings, and whether the utility can help medically vulnerable residents. McGarry responded that typical outages restored in ordinary circumstances average about two hours, but PSPS and associated damage can extend outages substantially. She said Xcel is working with offices of emergency management and local partners to identify critical customers (water/wastewater, medical facilities) and to coordinate response and generator support when possible.
McGarry also discussed cybersecurity and said the company maintains dedicated cybersecurity teams and controls (restricted access to sensitive floors, device lockdowns and multi-factor authentication), adding that the company treats cybersecurity as a top priority.
The presentation acknowledged tradeoffs among safety, affordability and clean-energy goals and described how wildfire-related liabilities can affect a utility’s cost of borrowing and therefore customer rates. McGarry cited examples from other states, and said Xcel is pursuing a balanced approach to safety, reliability, affordability and decarbonization.
The utility encouraged residents to sign up for outage and PSPS alerts and to register medically vulnerable customers. McGarry said Xcel is working to improve online outage mapping and hoped for better address-level PSPS indicators by 2026.
The board did not take formal action at the session; commissioners thanked the presenter and asked staff to pursue follow-up conversations about outreach, critical-customer lists and local emergency-management coordination.
