Colorado PUC Seeks Feedback on Black Hills Energy Power Shutoff

CO PUC News

Published February 17th, 2026

Detected February 27th, 2026

Summary

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is seeking public feedback on Black Hills Energy's recent Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event. The PUC is developing new rules for PSPS and is encouraging input from customers and stakeholders via an online tool, email, mail, or phone. This consultation is related to Proceeding No. 26M-0037E.

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What changed

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has initiated a public consultation to gather feedback on Black Hills Energy's Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event that occurred on February 17, 2026, impacting Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, and Fremont counties. This consultation is part of the PUC's effort to develop new rules governing PSPS, which are temporary power outages implemented by utilities to mitigate wildfire risk during dangerous weather conditions. The PUC is actively seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders, including customers, nonprofits, local governments, and emergency managers, to inform the development of these regulations.

Regulated entities and interested parties are encouraged to submit their comments and feedback through various channels, including an online feedback tool, email, mail, or by phone, referencing Proceeding No. 26M-0037E. While no specific compliance deadline for submitting comments is provided in this announcement, the PUC's proactive solicitation of input indicates a need for stakeholders to engage promptly to influence the forthcoming rules. The development of these rules aims to balance wildfire prevention with the significant customer impacts of power shutoffs.

What to do next

Submit feedback on Black Hills Energy's PSPS event via the PUC's online tool, email, mail, or phone.
Reference Proceeding No. 26M-0037E when submitting comments.
Monitor the PUC website for updates on the development of new PSPS rules.

Source document (simplified)

Colorado Public Utilities Commission Seeking Feedback on Black Hills Public Safety Power Shutoff

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Submitted by [user:fieldfirstname] The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) encourages the public to submit feedback about the Black Hills Energy Feb. 17th Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), using the PUC’s Public Safety Power Shutoff online tool.

A PSPS is a temporary power outage implemented by electric utilities to reduce wildfire risk during dangerous weather conditions. When extreme winds, low humidity, and dry conditions create high fire danger, utilities may proactively shut off power to prevent their equipment from sparking and igniting wildfires. While these shutoffs protect communities from catastrophic fires, they can significantly impact customers.

The PUC is currently working on new rules addressing Public Safety Power Shutoffs and is seeking input from customers, nonprofits, local governments, emergency managers, and other stakeholders as it develops these rules. To date, the PUC has received thousands of comments from those impacted by Xcel Energy’s PSPS events in December and January.

The PSPS event was implemented for Pueblo, Crowley, Otero and Fremont counties by Black Hills on Feb. 17. Additionally, the area of Westcliffe has been placed on a “PSPS Watch” by Black Hills.

Ways to provide public comment include:
Submitting PSPS feedback and taking a survey through the PUC’s online Public Safety Power Shutoff feedback tool
Emailing comments to dorapuccomments@state.co.us
Mailing to the Commission’s offices at: Colorado Public Utilities Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202
Calling (303) 869-3490 to leave oral comments (English and Spanish options)
Note: please use the Proceeding No 26M-0037E when providing comment

For more information:

Black Hills Energy: Visit Black Hills Energy PSPS webpage and Black Hills Outages webpage
PUC: Visit PUC PSPS webpage; and use Proceeding No. 26M-0037E in E-Filings on the PUC website, puc.colorado.gov.