When the power goes out in Louisville, Marci Kalish says her mind starts running.
“Is it transformer fuses blowing? That could cause a spark, that could cause a fire. That’s not safe. Is our power supply safe? You know why these power outages are happening so often?” she said.
Miles away, in almost all corners of the metro area, residents in the Happy Canyon neighborhood in Denver, Applewood in Golden, or south in Sterling Ranch have the same question.
“I’ve lived here for five years. By far, this is the worst area that I’ve lived in my whole life. I’ve been an Xcel customer my whole life,” one Sterling Ranch resident said at a community meeting on Monday.
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Kalish, who has lived in her home for 20 years, says she’s had multiple outages every month, for months.
“Have power outages been a problem over those 20 years?” CBS News Colorado reporter Karen Morfitt asked Kalish.
“No, we never experienced a problem like this before,” she responded.
Both she and her husband provide online training for groups across the country. They are now frequently left scrambling to find a place where they can connect to power.
“It’s definitely disconcerting, and we just kind of want answers,” she said.
Xcel representatives spoke directly to Sterling Ranch neighbors at Monday’s meeting, and Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, spoke briefly on broader issues.
“Every community has its own distinct set of underlying causes. What we are seeing is load growth. And it’s not limited to Colorado. We’re seeing this around the country, where we’re experiencing load growth in ways that we have not historically seen.”
We asked about the outages in each of the neighborhoods brought to CBS News Colorado.
Xcel says that in the Applewood business area, weather events, equipment failure, and crew safety issues are to blame.
In Denver’s Happy Canyon area, Xcel cites capacity issues due to a cable fault as the cause. In Louisville, a spokesperson says an inspection of the lines was done, and no cause was found.
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Xcel says the power grid is built to support customer energy needs, but various factors impact infrastructure, such as customers running air conditioners on hot days.
Kalish says she understands it’s not all on Xcel but wonders if more could be done.
“Our practices will probably have to change. On the other hand, Xcel made $8.5 billion last year, so what are they doing? How much money are they putting into new infrastructure?” she said.
Wildfire safety systems are also leading to more inspections, which means lines are down more frequently. In that case, residents say better notification systems are needed.
CBS News Colorado asked if there were plans to increase or improve that process.
A spokesperson said only that customers should update their notification preferences and let Xcel know how they want to be reached during an outage. Customers are also encouraged to report any power outage.