Xcel Energy revises possible power shutoff plan, concentrates on southern Colorado due to high fire danger

Xcel Energy has revised its plan for a possible Public Safety Power Shutoff on Wednesday, concentrating on areas in southern Colorado. The utility company initially included parts of Colorado's Western Slope in its plan, but that changed on Tuesday morning. 

Xcel released a new plan detailing strong winds, low relative humidity and very dry conditions, resulting in high wildfire risk in parts of the San Luis Valley, on Wednesday. 

Xcel said to reduce the risk of wildfire and support public safety, the utility is planning for a likely PSPS beginning Wednesday around noon, which would potentially impact about 14,000 customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties.  Xcel said much of the area is experiencing Extreme to Exceptional drought due to the record warm and dry winter. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the San Luis Valley for this weather event. 

Customers can look up their address on the outage map to find out if they may be affected by a PSPS event. Xcel said the impacted areas and the number of customers impacted may change as weather conditions evolve. Weather conditions are expected to improve around 7 p.m. Wednesday and crews will begin restoring power as soon as it's safe.

Xcel said it will continue to monitor a high wildfire risk event along the northern Front Range expected on Thursday. Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings will be activated across Colorado at that time, which means that power lines are more sensitive and can stop the flow of electricity if there is an issue. Xcel said it helps improve public safety during heightened risk conditions.