Customers share frustrations with Xcel for the power shut-off [Video]

State regulators held a listening session to hear complaints about Xcel’s public safety power shutoff.

DENVER — Xcel got lit up by customers upset about the lack of notification for having their lights turned off.

On Wednesday, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) held a public hearing for Xcel customers to tell the state regulators about their experience with the purposeful power shutoffs a week-and-a-half ago.

On April 6, Xcel used a public safety power shutoff (PSPS) to proactively turn off power to 55,000 customers during extremely high winds.

In the days after the decision, Xcel Colorado CEO Robert Kenney acknowledged that communication could be better, in an interview with Next with Kyle Clark.

“We acknowledge where there’s opportunities to communicate sooner. And we’ll work to do that going forward,” Kenney said.

The PUC announced that 170 people had signed up to speak during the public hearing, along with 700 written complaints.

“Unfair and arbitrary seems to be the vibe of the …