Xcel Shuts Off Power to Nearly 100,000 Customers in Boulder, Along Front Range as High Winds Approach

With extremely high winds expected to hit Colorado’s Front Range late this morning and into the afternoon, the state’s largest electricity supplier has warned thousands of households and businesses that they’re losing power, and that more outages could occur.

Earlier this week, Xcel Energy sent out statements alerting customers of “a strong wind event and likely Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)” in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the “development of strong downslope winds” on the afternoon of December 17 that could hit upwards of eighty miles per hour, with “widespread” gusts of fifty to seventy miles per hour.

The winds could hit certain areas of Colorado as early as 11 a.m., with the Interstate 25 corridor expected to experience winds up to 65 miles per hour from the early afternoon into the evening, according to the NWS.

After including over 500,000 Denver and Front Range customers in its potential outage map on December 16, Xcel severely tapered back expectations this morning, with just over 70,000 customers and fewer counties in the metro listed as of 10 a.m. However, Xcel later announced that it would shut off power for around 50,000 customers, and the utility provider is monitoring the weather in case additional outages are needed.

As of 10:30, over 97,000 customers were included on Xcel’s outage map, many of which include unplanned outages.

Numerous schools in Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson and Weld counties have closed or will end early today in anticipation of the wind and blackouts.

Xcel says it’s shutting off power to avoid wildfire risks in the Boulder area and along other portions of the Front Range, which have sustained billions of dollars in property damage from wildfires in recent years. Still, not all residents are on board with the blackouts, with customers in Boulder and Jefferson counties recalling a similar situation last year that left them without power for days.

Where Electric Outages Will Occur

According to Xcel, the 50,000 planned outages occur in certain areas across Boulder, Clear Creek, Eagle, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties. Denver County and some suburban counties were originally on a potential outage map yesterday and this morning, but are no longer on the list. However, the number out homes and buildings without power is growing as the day goes on.

Shortly after the planned outages took place at approximately 10 a.m., over 45,000 more were added to Xcel’s outage map. As of 12:30 p.m., there were over 97,000 customers without power in Colorado.

“Customers can look up their address on our outage map to find out if they will be affected by this PSPS event,” a statement from Xcel reads. “The impacted areas and number of customers affected may continue to change as weather conditions evolve and our teams refine the scope of the PSPS event.”

The high winds are expected to die down tonight, but NWS forecasts show that low humidity and dry conditions will remain. According to Xcel, high winds could hit Colorado mountain ranges and certain parts of the Front Range again on Friday, which might lead to more preventative and emergency power outages.