Looking at what Xcel learned from the way California shuts off power to prevent fires. And a ringing endorsement for a one-of-a-kind instructor at DU.
BOULDER, Colo. — Two sources of power for Boulder’s wastewater plant were shut off by Xcel Energy, nearly causing raw sewage to flow into Boulder Creek.
“We were communicating with them several hours before we lost power,” Douville said. “It took a number of elevated conversations, all the way up to the top within our organization, as well as Xcel’s.”According to Douville, half of the facility is powered by one substation, half is powered by a second substation and if one goes down, the facility can be run by number two.
That agreement saw the city pay Xcel $140,000 in 2006 for the second power source and to reserve electrical capacity.There is one section of the agreement that reads: “Xcel Energy reserves the right to remove preferred or alternate source from service for emergency situations at any time.”“Ultimately, they did restore power to the Niwot substation which allowed us to resume operation and avoid that spill,” Douville said.There was a third treatment tank that was empty and under construction.
“We would consider it a severe public health crisis because Boulder Creek is heavily used by downstream entities for municipal use as well as agriculture, irrigation use, and recreational use,” Douville said. Just like so many customers that lost power on April 6, Boulder has concerns about communication before the power shut-off.
Boulder City Council meets on Thursday nights and Xcel Colorado CEO Robert Kenney attended the meeting.
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