Ethan Carlson joined Denver7 in November 2020. After more than three years as a photographer, he moved into the role of multimedia journalist.
Losing electricity is inconvenient for everyone, but it can be dangerous for Coloradans living with medical devices. When extreme wildfire conditions force a preemptive power shutoff , Xcel Energy will provide customers who depend on electricity for medical needs with a full 72 hour-advance notice.
“It’s extremely important for them to make alternative accommodations or plan for a power outage, particularly when we know we are going to do a power outage,” Hollie Velasquez Horvath, a regional vice president for Xcel Energy, said. Watch the full story in the video player below. Melina Tayah is a policy advocate at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, a nonprofit that focuses on food, health, housing and income for Coloradans.
She said advanced shutoff notifications can save lives, but many Coloradans will not receive them.
“Xcel is definitely setting the bar for the rest of the state to follow through,” Tayah said. “As of this year, January 2026, roughly 35 of the 52 energy providers do not provide a way for people to receive a notice, whether it's planned or unplanned. ”In addition to notifications, Xcel will give up to $10,000 in rebates toward backup battery systems for those who qualify medically.
“It’s a larger backup battery system that requires a battery installer with a battery company to come and install it,” Velasquez Horvath said. “It automatically is connected to the electric grid and their meter, so it automatically will turn on once their power goes out.
”To receive the rebate, individuals need to be an Excel customer, signed up for the company’s Medical Certification Program or the Colorado Medical Exemption Program, and live in a risk 2 or 3 wildfire risk zone. Tayah said the program is a great start, but the rebate may only go so far.
“$10,000 covers maybe a generator that will charge up to two to four hours when these outages occur for a day or multiple days,” Tayah said. Still, she said that Xcel is at least addressing the issue.
“The rest of Colorado does not have anything like that,”Tayah said. “We went through our own research and we looked through every single municipality and utility entity, and no one provides them a backup battery program. ”If an Xcel customer needs electricity for a medical reason, the number one thing they can do is let the company know.
“Please call, opt in,” Velasquez Horvath said. “So that we know that we have customers that have a medical device in their home, and then they will get additional marketing for the backup battery program and also those advanced notifications if we are to do a planned outage. ”This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI.
Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Colorado Center On Law And Policy Medical Devices Power Shut Off Power Shutoff Wildfire Mitigation Denver Xcel PSPS Xcel Energy
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