3 days ago
Xcel Energy's 2025-2027 wildfire mitigation plan approved
DENVER (KDVR) — Xcel Energy's wildfire mitigation plan, which expands work and programs to reduce wildfire risk, was approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the company announced Friday.
The plan was approved on Thursday, and Xcel Energy-Colorado president Robert Kenney said it allows the company to implement projects to protect customers and communities from the risk of wildfire.
'We worked closely with a large coalition of stakeholders representing customers, businesses, government and agencies to put forth a plan designed to keep our customers and communities safe, while keeping bills low,' Kenney said.
Xcel said the 2025-2027 Wildfire Mitigation Plan outlines goals and reporting methods to better communicate the mitigation work with customers and communities, including during events like public safety power shutoffs to prevent potential ignitions from energized electrical facilities.
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Here are the proposed investments and improvements that Xcel listed:
Greater Situational Awareness: Implementing advanced fire modeling and analysis tools, adding weather stations and tripling AI cameras for early smoke detection.
Technology-Enabled Inspections: Accelerating inspections in wildfire risk areas using aerial and drone methods.
Infrastructure Improvements: Multi-year program to upgrade equipment, underground power lines and rebuild transmission lines.
Vegetation Management: Expanding efforts in high-risk areas with new standards for inspections and pruning.
Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings: Increasing remote safety settings, sectionalizing lines and adding new technology.
Public Safety Power Shutoff Program: Providing interactive outage maps, proposing a backup energy rebate and improving customer support and communication.
Organizational Growth: Expanding the Wildfire Risk team by improving capabilities in meteorology, fire science, risk management and analytics.
'This is a significant step toward making our community safer and more resilient in the face of growing wildfire threats,' said Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, City of Boulder City Manager. 'With the Public Utilities Commission's approval, we're thrilled to see this plan move forward. I am proud of the work our city team did to ensure the voices of our community—and our neighboring communities—were heard and to help shape a plan that better protects the people and places most at risk.'
The company said the plan is also designed to keep customer bills low by 'securitizing eligible company investments.'
Xcel said the plan was verbally approved and the PUC is expected to release a written decision later this summer.
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