Is Xcel afraid it will break?

I write this while looking out my study window. The trees are moving pretty good. A windstorm is predicted – 100mph gusts along the foothills. 35-50mph are predicted in Johnstown.

Remember when COVID first started? Remember hearing this phrase: out of an abundance of caution. I really started to hate that phrase.

While out of an abundance of caution was not in the story about Xcel and the windstorm today, I heard it in the back of my head while reading about the decision to shut off power in certain Front Range areas to reduce the risk of wildfires. Strange, the article does not delve into the possible adverse effects of this decision on residents in the affected areas or propose alternative solutions. Just know that the lights are going out. Out of an abundance of caution.

We’ve all heard about the fragility of the US power grid. Despite technological advancements, the backbone of the nation’s electricity supply remains surprisingly delicate, leaving many to question whether it’s truly equipped to handle President Biden and Governor Polis’ zeal to mandate an all electrified future.

Solar and wind power deliver an intermittent supply of electricity. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warns that the grid, in its current form, lacks the flexibility to integrate these fluctuating energy flows seamlessly.

But on a windy day like today, those windmills will crank out some juice, right? Yes. But if it gets above 55mph, they shut electricity generation down. Out of an abundance of caution. And if that electricity is not immediately used, it has to be stored. In a bunch of batteries. And they really don’t have enough of those. And since they’re shutting the power off – out of an abundance of caution – you can’t use it anyway.

But I understand the caution. Wildfires, a distressing byproduct of poor grid management, exemplify the aged grid’s susceptibility to sparking calamities. Investigations by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) have repeatedly linked devastating wildfires to equipment failures within the grid.

So let’s shut ‘er down. Out of an abundance of caution.

If the Guv and Uncle Joe Biden had their way, we’d be cooking with electricity and heating with electricity and driving with electricity. But not today – Xcel is shutting down the power – out of an abundance of caution.

By the way, the folks without power after 3:00 will be some (but not all, Xcel still needs to determine the amount of abundance of caution to be used) of the residents in Boulder County, as well as small sections of Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, Douglas and Broomfield counties. Many of these folks are all in on the all electricity future.

Let’s see how they feel after Xcel exercises an abundance of caution today.