The Colorado Public Utilities Commission released tips this week urging residents to lower thermostats and seal windows to save money during extreme cold weather. The same agency approved a $1.9 billion Xcel Energy spending plan last year, back-to-back rate increases totaling $546 million, and a controversial power shutoff program that’s prompted more than 4,000 complaints. The disconnect reveals a regulatory body offering homeowners pennies in savings advice while approving rate increases that could push electric bills up 72% by 2029.
The January 23 release tells Coloradans to lower thermostats to 58 degrees when away, run ceiling fans clockwise, and seal windows with “affordable” kits from home improvement stores. It came the same week the PUC scheduled a January 28 virtual hearing to establish rules for Public Safety Power Shutoffs—nine months after already approving the program. Customers can save, per PUC advice, approximately 3-5% by lowering water heater temperature. Xcel’s approved rate increases: 9.93% for electricity, 11.4% for gas.
The PUC verbally approved Xcel’s $1.9 billion Wildfire Mitigation Plan in June 2025, including formal adoption of PSPS as a mitigation tool. The agency is only now creating “permanent requirements and standards” for PSPS through Proceeding No. 26M-0037E. Xcel executed five separate power shutoffs since April 2024 under approved spending authority but without established regulatory standards. The January 28 hearing invitation states the PUC “welcomes input” from customers—after the fact.
The timeline exposes reactive regulation. Xcel deployed its first-ever PSPS on April 6, 2024, cutting power to approximately 55,000 customers. Governor Jared Polis directed the PUC to investigate and pursue reforms, explicitly stating Xcel “fell short in informing and protecting customers.” Seven months later, on October 10, 2024, the PUC adopted interim recommendations to improve Xcel’s communication practices. On December 17, 2025, Xcel cut power to 52,000 customers across Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties. Two days later, December 19, the utility shut off power to 69,000 customers in those same counties. On December 30, the PUC finally opened Proceeding No. 25M-001 as a repository for public comments. Between January 14-16, 2026, another 9,000 customers faced shutoffs in Larimer and Weld counties. The first formal public hearing on establishing actual rules occurs January 28.
Survey responses documented consequences the PUC approved without protective standards. One commenter wrote the shutoff was “the single most stressful event of my life.” Another reported suffering PTSD from the power shutoffs. A third detailed costs: “The last one cost me five days in a hotel, loss of food getting thrown out and loss of work because I work from home.” More than 4,000 Coloradans responded to the state survey following December shutoffs, with overwhelming dissatisfaction focused on lack of notice, poor communication, inadequate mapping, and failure to protect critical infrastructure. One customer summarized the problem: “creating unreasonable and unnecessary hardship for residents.”
The PUC’s response reveals a jurisdictional gap enabling unilateral utility action. The agency does not approve or deny Xcel’s shutoff decisions. It oversees only “communication, preparation and coordination.” Xcel unilaterally determines when to cut power to tens of thousands, unilaterally determines geographic scope, and the PUC can only comment on whether customers were notified properly. Governor Polis’s April 2024 letter called for “proper cost analysis” before PSPS decisions. Nine months later, no evidence exists the PUC implemented such requirements. During December shutoffs, commissioners admitted they weren’t sure “how far along Xcel was” in identifying and protecting medical equipment-dependent customers.
While offering tips to save 5-15% by changing furnace filters monthly, the PUC approved rate increases dwarfing any household conservation efforts. Chairman Eric Blank warned in November 2025 that Xcel’s $22 billion five-year investment plan could push rates up 72% by 2029. Current rate: 13.82 cents per kilowatt-hour. Projected rate: up to 23.8 cents per kilowatt-hour. Blank stated: “I’m concerned that we’re fundamentally not on track to maintain affordability.”
On November 21, 2025—the Friday before Thanksgiving—Xcel filed an electric rate case seeking $356 million. On December 29, 2025, during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, Xcel filed a gas rate case seeking $190 million. Combined impact for dual-service households: $17.53 per month starting in 2026. Both filings came during holiday periods designed to minimize public attention.
Xcel Energy reported $1.94 billion in profits for 2024, a 9.3% increase from 2023. PUC analysis projects Xcel’s Colorado earnings rising from $700 million in 2020 to $1.6 billion. Joseph Pereira, deputy director of the Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, identified the driver: “Bringing these rate cases largely has to do with the returns and dividends [Xcel] is looking to meet at the corporate level.” The Wildfire Mitigation Plan includes securitization to eliminate equity returns for shareholders—but only after bill increases take effect through 2027.
The January 23 winter tips tell Coloradans to lower thermostats a few degrees and keep filters clean. The January 28 hearing invites public comment on rules for a program the PUC already approved. Customers facing 72% rate increases by 2029 can save, per PUC advice, approximately 5-15% through conservation measures while Xcel’s earnings nearly double and shutoffs continue without established standards. The agency tasked with consumer protection offers homeowners tips to weatherize windows while approving billions in utility spending and rate increases without the regulatory framework to prevent unnecessary hardship.
PUC commissioners—Chairman Eric Blank, Megan Gilman, and Tom Plant—approved the spending first and established the rules later. Director Rebecca White oversees an agency that solicits public feedback after implementing controversial programs. The regulatory sequence runs backward: approve $1.9 billion including PSPS in June, deploy shutoffs affecting 121,000 customers across multiple events, then ask for public input on permanent standards seven months later. Coloradans can lower their thermostats or attend the January 28 virtual hearing. Neither will prevent the next shutoff or reduce the approved rate increases.
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