Golden officials did not mince words in a recent letter to Xcel Energy, where they demanded answers and better practices from the company after the mid-December power shutoffs that left thousands of people without electricity for roughly four days.
Mayor Laura Weinberg signed the Jan. 2 letter on behalf of City of Golden residents, business community members, elected officials and staff members. Copies were sent to both Xcel and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the regulatory body that oversees the company.
The letter requested a reply from both Xcel and the PUC, but as of Jan. 14, Golden had not received a reply from either party.
City Manager Scott Vargo confirmed Xcel had received the letter and was "actively working on responding," he stated at the Jan. 13 City Council meeting. He hoped Xcel would send its reply by the week of Jan. 26.
Meanwhile, the PUC has not acknowledged the letter, he added.
Xcel Energy conducted back-to-back Public Safety Power Shutoffs - or PSPS - Dec. 17 and 19 amid dangerously windy and dry conditions across the Front Range, with red-flag warnings and fire restrictions. Officials noted that the conditions were nearly identical to those in December 2021 that exacerbated the Marshall Fire.
People in and around Golden city limits -- as well as other communities in and near the foothills -- were without power for roughly four days.
As Vargo explained, the City of Golden has "zero" regulatory authority over Xcel, and thus, had no input on how the company conducted the shutoffs, or when and how it restored power.
For local businesses
Additionally, the Golden Chamber of Commerce is hosting a PSPS Business Impact Check-In meeting at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 21 at the Golden Community Center.
Chamber President Nola Krajewski clarified that this meeting is open to any Golden business, not just chamber members. However, it will review the PSPS" business impacts only, and not impacts on residents
Krajewski said the meeting's goal is to be a "learning opportunity," where business members can discuss ideas and solutions, rather than look back at the impacts.
Businesses were able to share their specific impacts and frustrations in a recent chamber survey, and Krajewski said the chamber will be sharing the results soon.
To register for the Jan. 21 meeting, visit business.goldenchamber.org/events/calendar.
Regarding the city's recent letter, Krajewski said she applauded local leaders "for their advocacy on behalf of businesses and residents, and for putting together such a direct ask of Xcel and the PUC."
She continued: "I am grateful they have taken this step to highlight the disproportionate impacts the PSPS had for the Golden community and to ask boldly for improvements for the future."
The truth & the consequences
As outgoing City Councilor Paul Haseman summarized, the letter Golden sent Xcel and the PUC was "stern."
It outlines "corrective action" Xcel should take, including 11 specific improvements, if it plans to continue power shutoffs as wildfire prevention strategies.
As of Jan. 14, the letter was not posted on the city website, but officials discussed doing so if there's enough public interest. However, city staff members provided the Transcript with a copy.
In it, Golden officials summarize how the power shutoffs impacted residents, particularly low-income residents, disabled and senior residents who rely on electricity to charge their medical devices or refrigerate their medicine.
"Many residents cannot simply absorb extended loss of power without significant risk to their health and safety," it states. "The lack of targeted communication, coordinated support, or practical contingency planning for medically vulnerable populations represents a serious failure that must be addressed before events like this are allowed to occur again."
Among businesses, the power shutoffs "resulted in spoiled food, lost wages, cancelled services and significant revenue loss during a critical time of year," the letter states.
It adds: "These are not abstract inconveniences; they are real financial harms that compound over time and cost businesses their livelihood. Events like this cannot be allowed to occur as a repeated fire mitigation strategy, particularly when each lost day of operation has real financial consequences for businesses and food spoilage alone results in losses of thousands of dollars."
Overall, Golden officials felt like the city was "uniquely and disproportionately impacted," likely due to some combination of poor weather prediction accuracy, its infrastructure, its geographic location, and the outages' timing and duration.
These power shutoffs meant the city, its residents and businesses suffered "significant and unplanned costs" -- financially, physically, mentally and emotionally -- to keep themselves safe and keep essential services running, the letter continues.
"Golden expects meaningful accountability"
In the letter, Golden officials also outline Xcel Energy's significant failures regarding lack of communication, preparedness or accountability on the company's part.
While the city doesn't downplay the risks and dangers associated with wildfires, it also demands "corrective action" and "meaningful accountability" if Xcel continues to use PSPS as a wildfire mitigation strategy.
Golden officials list 11 steps they want Xcel to take, starting with outlining its decision-making rationale for the Dec. 17-21 power shutoffs.
The other 10 steps included:
* Improving its infrastructure to avoid another PSPS;
* Establishing transparent and objective criteria for starting and ending a PSPS;
* Establishing better communications and coordination with both customers and local governments during such events; and
* Addressing the financial impacts shifted to local governments, small businesses and residents during the Dec. 17-21 power shutoffs.
"Golden is a resilient community that can weather any storm," the letter concludes. "Our residents and businesses are asking for and deserve a wildland fire risk response that is in step with public safety and economic vitality."
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