How Core Electric’s approach differed from Xcel Energy’s during Colo. windstorm [Video]

SEDALIA, Colo. — Two of the main companies that supply power to thousands of Coloradans took two different approaches during last weekend’s windstorm.

Last Saturday, 194,000 Xcel Energy customers lost power as forecasters warned of dangerous winds that could bring gusts of up to 100 mph to the foothills. About 55,000 of those outages were preemptive “public safety power shutoffs.”

Xcel Energy officials said the company killed power to remove the risk of starting a wildfire in dry, windy conditions.

The much smaller utility, CORE Electric Cooperative, saw 12,000 customers lose power at the height of the storm — but those lights went out because of storm damage, not because of preemptive power shutoffs.

CORE Electric Cooperative’s headquarters sits off Highway 85 in Douglas County. The co-op keeps the lights on across 5,000 square miles along the front range spanning multiple counties.

“We cover areas like Bennett, Strasburg, east of the airport, we cover Parker on the south side of town, all the way …