We first want to recognize that many of our mountain area members were without power for nearly 24 hours due to the recent high-wind event, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and resilience during this storm.

At 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, with wind gusts reaching 85 mph, United Power lost transmission power from the Xcel Energy line that supplies power to United Power’s entire mountain community. This outage was not a planned shutoff.

Due to high fire-risk conditions, all regional power lines were set to the most sensitive protective system settings (Wildfire Safety Mode). This setting immediately cuts power if a problem is detected on the line. To prevent further damage or possible fires, physical inspections are required before power can be safely restored. Line inspections are challenging and unsafe to conduct in the dark, so unfortunately, our members went without power on Wednesday night.

United Power crews began their day at first light on Thursday and worked tirelessly inspecting every major span of line across the mountain district. The backbone of United Power’s system was restored at 1 p.m., and then crews moved to restore every feeder line served by that backbone. As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, electric service was restored to all affected members. If you are still without power, you may have an isolated issue affecting your service location. Please call 303-637-1350 to report your outage. On-call crews will be working in the field into the night to try and restore as many of the remaining outages as possible.

Another high wind event is in the forecast for tomorrow. Because of these forecasted conditions and extreme fire risk, Xcel Energy, our local transmission provider, has announced they will initiate another planned shutoff beginning as early as 5 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 19. Additionally, during high fire-risk or Red Flag Warnings, United Power and Xcel Energy will be operating in Wildfire Safety Mode – meaning the system will be sensitive to interference and outages are likely.

We are uncertain at this time if a planned shutoff will affect United Power members, so we are sharing this information so members can be prepared.

What to Know

• A planned shutoff would be weather-related and occur in the highest fire-risk areas.
• Unplanned, weather-related outages are also possible due to forecasted wind conditions.
• Restoration cannot begin until winds subside, and inspections are completed.

Please Take a Few Moments to Prepare

• Charge essential medical devices and phones.
• Secure outdoor items for a second round of high winds.
• Implement your outage plan, especially if electricity is critical for medical needs.

Should weather affect our system on Friday, United Power crews remain ready to respond as soon as it is safe to do so. We will continue to provide updates on our website and Facebook page as conditions develop.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we work to protect our members, crews, and communities.