A Texas district court has ordered Xcel Energy to replace damaged utility poles in high wildfire risk areas within 14 days, following an agreement with the Texas Attorney General. This comes after the devastating Smokehouse Creek fire, which Xcel admitted was sparked by one of its poles. The agreement aims to improve safety and prevent future wildfires.
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If you find an error, email A new utility pole, bottom left, occupies the site of the original that caused the Smokehouse Creek fire outside of Stinnett.A Texas district court ordered Xcel, an electric utility with more than 200,000 customers in Texas, on Monday to replace poles within wildfire-prone areas it has identified as damaged, following an agreement between Texas Attorney General, killing scores of cattle and at least three people. Shortly after the devastation began, Xcel admitted the pole that sparked the fire was theirs. “Xcel has made the right decision in working with my office and ultimately agreeing to take these critical first steps,” Paxton said in a statement. “… I will continue to fight to ensure that justice is served and that wildfires will no longer be sparked by the negligence of a utility provider.” The agreement “largely tracks the pole-replacement procedures Xcel Energy proactively implemented two years ago, after the Smokehouse Creek fire,” said Xcel, in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “We’ll continue working with the state of Texas as we focus on the wildfire mitigation work to help keep the public safe.”“Anything Paxton can do to force Xcel to improve is great news,” Abraham said following the news of the injunction.The injunction today orders Xcel to replace all poles with severe structural deterioration located in high wildfire risk areas within 14 days. The company must then notify the state in writing once replacements are completed. Moving forward, all newly identified high-priority poles must be replaced no later than one day after being reported or discovered.The injunction also requires Xcel to conduct large-scale inspections of its infrastructure in high-risk wildfire areas and inspect at least 35,000 poles annually. According to company leaders, Xcel has replaced more than 19,000 poles since 2021 and invested more than $111 million in wooden pole safety and reliability. The utility has also implemented a wildfire mitigation plan, installed artificial intelligence cameras that can detect wildfires and alert nearby cities, adopted wildfire-resistant equipment to reduce ignition risk and moved certain electrical distribution systems underground.the company said 80 remaining high-priority poles are not located in high wildfire risk areas and are being replaced on an expedited basis. Replacing those can cost more than $15,000, according to the company. Additionally, Xcel said earlier this year it has 1,338 poles that are due for replacement, many of which are low priority.Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Texans need the truth. Help us report it. Independent Texas reporting needs your support. The Texas Tribune delivers fact-based journalism for Texans, by Texans — and our community of members, the readers who donate, make our work possible. Help us bring you and millions of others in-depth news and information. Will you support our nonprofit newsroom with a donation of any amount?Carlos Nogueras Ramos is a regional reporter based in Odessa. Carlos joined The Texas Tribune in 2023 as a corps member with Report for America. Carlos tells the stories of Texas from the vast energy-rich...Alejandra Martinez is a Fort Worth-based environmental reporter. She’s covered the impacts of petrochemical facilities on Black and brown communities, including investigating a chemical fire at an industrial...
Xcel Energy Wildfires Texas Attorney General Utility Poles Smokehouse Creek Fire
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