Xcel set to cut power to 47,000

The utility’s estimate of shutoffs in Colorado is a 140 percent rise over the same period in 2005.

Xcel Energy estimates that it will shut off 47,000 Colorado customers for delinquent bills during the second and third quarters of this year, a staggering 140 percent increase over the same period in 2005, according to regulatory filings.

With energy costs and customer shutoffs soaring, advocates for the poor are scrambling to find additional funding to assist low-income households with their electricity and heating bills this winter.


The state Public Utilities Commission plans to review today a rule change enacted in 2006 that lifted a requirement for Xcel to report its customer shutoffs. Xcel’s estimate on disconnections for this year was disclosed as part of hearings covering the company’s future power-generation plans.

Utilities nationwide are turning off more nonpaying customers amid a sluggish economy and surging food, gasoline and power costs.

Denver Post