In 2024, Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest electricity provider, faced significant scrutiny due to escalating service issues. Customer complaints doubled over three years, and blackouts more than doubled compared to previous years. In response, Xcel has initiated measures to address these problems, but state regulators are closely monitoring the situation to ensure effective resolution.
The Surge in Service Complaints and Outages
According to reports from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Xcel Energy experienced a notable increase in service-related issues:
- Blackouts: In 2024, the average Xcel customer experienced 350 outage minutes, a significant rise from the 166-minute average between 2014 and 2023.
- Customer Complaints: Complaints rose to 1,728 in 2024 from 873 in 2022, highlighting growing dissatisfaction among consumers.
- Billing Issues: The number of customers not receiving bills increased by 58%, and the time to resolve billing problems extended to three months.
These issues were exacerbated by a 10% reduction in staff and a 5% cut in the customer service budget between 2022 and 2024, even as electric rates increased by 30% during the same period.
Xcel Energy’s Response to the Crisis
Acknowledging the severity of the situation, Xcel Energy has taken steps to improve its services:
- Hiring Initiatives: The company has hired 170 new customer service agents and plans to add more to handle the increased volume of customer interactions.
- Infrastructure Investments: Xcel has proposed significant investments to upgrade its transmission system, including the Colorado Power Pathway project, which allocates $1.7 billion to expand transmission infrastructure in eastern Colorado.
- Wildfire Mitigation Plan: In response to concerns about utility equipment causing wildfires, Xcel’s Public Service Company of Colorado submitted an updated Wildfire Mitigation Plan to the PUC, with projected costs of approximately $1.9 billion over 2025 to 2027.
Regulatory Oversight and Future Implications
The Colorado PUC has voted to begin monitoring the reliability and customer service performance of Xcel Energy closely. This decision follows two commission staff reports outlining the company’s repeated problems in answering customer calls, sending out bills, and avoiding outages.
Commissioner Megan Gilman expressed concerns about Xcel’s focus on new investments while existing service issues remain unresolved, stating, “We’re seeing a company before us requesting tens of billions of dollars to buy new things, to do new things when they appear to be falling short of their basic core commitments to the customers that they exist to serve.”
Conclusion
While Xcel Energy has initiated measures to address its service challenges in Colorado, the effectiveness of these actions remains under scrutiny. The company’s ability to restore customer trust and meet regulatory expectations will be critical in the coming months. Continued oversight by the Colorado PUC aims to ensure that Xcel fulfills its commitments to reliable and efficient service for its 1.5 million customers in the state.
