Xcel Energy proposes plan to reduce Colorado wildfire risk

Xcel Energy has submitted its 2025-2027 Wildfire Mitigation Plan to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, proposing significant investments to reduce wildfire risks associated with its Colorado electrical equipment. Key components of the plan include:

• Installing hundreds of weather stations and tripling the number of AI cameras for early smoke detection.
• Updating the inspection schedule for poles and equipment in wildfire risk zones and creating 3D maps of equipment and terrain.
• Upgrading equipment, undergrounding power lines, and rebuilding transmission lines in high-risk areas.
• Increasing the number of remotely controlled safety settings.

Xcel Energy is facing a series of lawsuits for allegedly starting one of the fires that became the Marshall Fire. An investigation by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office concluded that a power line, unmoored by wind, came close enough to other lines to create sparks that ignited dry vegetation. Xcel has repeatedly denied any fault in starting the Marshall Fire.

In early April, to prevent its equipment from sparking a wildfire during a windstorm, Xcel preemptively cut power to 55,000 customers, mostly in Boulder County. Due to a lack of communication and coordination with local officials, the City of Boulder’s wastewater treatment plant nearly spilled raw sewage into Boulder Creek and Boulder restaurants lost approximately $1.6 million in revenue, wages and inventory. A hospital, a homeless shelter and a senior living facility also had their power cut with little notice. The proposed mitigation plan includes improvements for preemptive shutoffs, such as providing better maps of outage areas and offering a rebate program for customers to buy backup power sources.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission will review Xcel’s plan, allowing the public a chance to voice their opinions. If approved as it currently stands, the plan will cost approximately $1.9 billion over three years. To fund this, a typical customer bill will increase by about 10% over the next few years.