During the December 2025 windstorm, Xcel Energy implemented public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) affecting thousands of Boulder customers, the second and third such events since 2024. Additional outages occurred due to wind-damaged utility infrastructure. While intended to reduce wildfire risk, these outages underscored growing concerns about the electrical grid’s fragility, the increasing frequency and impacts of power shutoffs, and whether sufficient investments are being made in grid hardening, undergrounding and distributed energy solutions. In recent years, the community has experienced a notable decline in reliability alongside a rise in outage frequency.
Through this 2026 priority initiative, City Council seeks to better understand Xcel Energy’s current and planned actions to improve grid resilience and to identify what roles, authorities, and strategies the City of Boulder could pursue to reduce outage risk and community impacts.
Project Outcomes
The goal of this council priority is to develop a clear, actionable understanding of grid resilience risks, utility investments and city-led or city-enabled options to reduce power outage frequency, duration and community harm and to identify community supports necessary when an extended outage does occur.
Importance of Grid Reliability and Resilience
Reliable electricity is critical for public safety, economic stability, climate resilience and community well-being, especially as Boulder experiences increasing climate-driven hazards such as extreme winds, wildfire risk and heat events. This project aims to clarify risks, responsibilities, and options so the city can make informed decisions, advocate effectively with Xcel Energy and regulators and explore local actions that improve resilience for community members, businesses and critical facilities.
Climate impacts are accelerating, and planned power shutoffs are becoming a recurring reality rather than an exception. Proactively addressing grid resilience now can reduce future disruption, protect vulnerable populations, support emergency response and align with Boulder’s climate, resilience and equity goals.
Through this effort, council and city leadership will:
- Ensure there is a shared understanding of grid vulnerabilities and responsibilities.
- Gain a clear articulation of what Xcel is currently doing and planning to improve resilience.
- Identify viable city actions (policy, partnerships, pilots, advocacy).
- Be able to improve preparedness and equity considerations for future outages.
Scope
- Understand the causes and impacts of recent outages
- Review Xcel Energy’s resilience investments and plans
- Identify gaps and assess grid hardening strategies (undergrounding, sectionalization, microgrids) to address those gaps
The final product will be a policy roadmap outlining steps future councils may consider to improve reliability for the community, as well as a shared understanding of the investments being made in the community to address reliability concerns.
