[zefhous]

I live in Boulder, Colorado. We had the Marshall Fire[1] a couple years ago, which burned down 1084 structures on a day with high winds. These winds are pretty normal around here on occasion, at least multiple times each year.

What's not normal is that last week, our utility (Xcel Energy) decided to preemptively shut off power to 55,000 customers to reduce risk before a forecasted wind event with high fire-risk[2]. They had intended to restore power the next day, but some went without power for a couple days.

The communication and execution of the shutdown seemed poor, and the infrastructure problems that led to the shutdown are still here. The impression I have from comments in local groups is that they are trying to avoid liability and have not adequately invested in fixing shoddy infrastructure that is going to be safe here. People are expecting regular shutoffs to become the new normal. Wind storms aren't going away, fixing the infrastructure would take a long time, and people don't think Xcel is interested in spending the money, even though they can likely afford to.

This has definitely left me thinking about a DIY battery+solar solution to keep my heating system running, as well as fridge/freezers.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Fire [2] https://www.cpr.org/2024/04/08/for-the-first-time-a-colorado...