Rep. Evans Urges Governor Polis and Public Utilities Commission to Reinforce Colorado’s Energy Infrastructure Amid Repeated Power Shutoffs
Rep. Evans demands action after repeated blackouts have left tens of thousands across the Front Range without power
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Gabe Evans sent a letter to Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) expressing serious concerns over repeated Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) across Colorado –– including in Weld and Larimer counties –– and calling for immediate action to strengthen the state’s energy infrastructure.
In the letter, Rep. Gabe Evans echoed constituents’ concerns about the direct negative impacts of Colorado’s environmental mandates on seniors, small businesses, homeowners, and rural communities. He emphasized that Coloradans are being forced to pay more for energy that is becoming less reliable, underscoring that affordability and grid stability must go hand in hand.
Since December 1, 2025, Xcel Energy has initiated three PSPS events affecting Boulder, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Weld, and Larimer counties –– leaving tens of thousands of residents without power across the Front Range. Rep. Gabe Evans warned that repeated blackouts place an unsustainable burden on vulnerable communities who rely on electricity for heat, medical care, water access, and daily operations.
An excerpt from the letter reads:
"I respectfully urge the State to collaborate with Xcel Energy, along with other providers, to ensure continued approval of robust Wildfire Mitigation Plans while also giving serious considerations to alternative proactive measures, including targeted undergrounding and monitoring technologies, to harden Colorado’s energy infrastructure against wildfire risk and avoid weather-related outages like this in the future." – Congressman Gabe Evans
Rep. Evans also pointed to findings from a 2024 Colorado Energy Office report indicating that state decarbonization mandates are driving billions in additional energy costs, diverting resources away from infrastructure-hardening efforts that would improve reliability.
PSPS events are not an inevitable fact of life. Across other Western states, utility providers have been able to significantly reduce the frequencies of these events through common-sense investments into hardening transmission lines and transformers… We could achieve this success here in Colorado if the Governor’s Office and the PUC championed policies that incentivize and assist utilities in hardening their infrastructure while also cutting red tape for the permitting associated with these projects. – Congressman Gabe Evans
Rep. Evans urged the Governor’s Office and the PUC to work collaboratively with utility providers to prioritize infrastructure resilience, streamline permitting, and protect Coloradans from recurring blackouts.
The full letter can be found here.