The Boulder County Commissioners recognize the significant impacts of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) on residents, businesses, and even government facilities. Since the first PSPS in 2024, they have been advocating for Xcel to take step to increase the strength of their transmission and distribution system and for more transparency and openness in their communications with everyone impacted by these events. They met with Xcel’s Colorado Leadership after the April 2024 PSPS to convey concerns and ask for better communication, and they wrote to Xcel’s Colorado Leadership after the December 2025 PSPS, urging Xcel to prioritize undergrounding, and have requested another meeting.
In addition, the Boulder Office of Disaster Management (Boulder ODM), a partnership between the Boulder County Government and the City of Boulder, has been working at the state level to seek long-term improvements and directly with Xcel in implementing more immediate measures to mitigate impacts through increased communication and information sharing regarding preparation, response, and restoration before, during, and after a PSPS. Both the Boulder County Commissioners and the Boulder ODM have testified in front of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which regulates Xcel and is looking at these topics.
As the site of the most destructive and expensive wildfire in Colorado’s history, Boulder County has experienced significant harm from these disasters. Until longer-term mitigation strategies can be implemented, Boulder County believes PSPS are an important tool for preventing wildfires in high-risk areas and that undergrounding is essential in the long term.
Electrical System Undergrounding and Franchise Agreements
Municipalities, such as the City of Boulder and the City of Louisville, have greater legal rights over utility providers than statutory counties like Boulder County. Under state law, municipalities can require that utility providers first execute a “franchise agreement” in order to operate within municipal boundaries. See C.R.S. § 31-32-101. Utility providers are not similarly required to enter into franchise agreements with statutory counties before operating in unincorporated areas; therefore, Boulder County lacks this crucial legal mechanism used by municipalities to compel local improvements.
Through franchise agreements, municipalities can obtain financial commitments from utility providers to fund local infrastructure improvements. The City of Boulder has a franchise agreement with Xcel that requires “1% of gross electric revenue from the City of Boulder [be] dedicated to burying existing distribution lines that are currently overhead to improve the system’s reliability, performance, and aesthetics.” Please note that under these types of agreements, homeowners generally have to pay for the site-specific costs of connecting their home to the new underground system.
Moving Forward
During each of Xcel’s PSPS, experience and metrics are refined that help prepare our community for future events. Boulder ODM has already gained emergency notification and messaging capacity and capability through improved data sharing from Xcel related to outage locations and restoration work.
The county will continue to pursue short-term and long-term improvements to wildfire mitigation measures across unincorporated Boulder County, including our wildfire mitigation programs funded by the voter-approved Wildfire Mitigation Sales & Use Tax.
If you want to add your voice to the comments the county has already shared with the PUC, you can contact them directly through their web form. They are currently looking at rulemaking relating to PSPS specifically, and their feedback survey is still open.