NEDERLAND — At the time of writing this article, on Sunday, December 21, 2025, the power in central Nederland went out unexpectedly, prompting residents to flock to Facebook for another round of notifying, questioning, and venting.

It was the third time since Wednesday that the power had gone out, at least for Nederland’s Central Business District. Other neighborhoods, including Sunnyside, Big Springs, and Ridge, were either still without power, or experiencing fewer interruptions. 

Regardless, the longest power interruption was for approximately 36 hours.

Wednesday, December 17, shortly after 4 p.m., the power was shut off, despite messages from Xcel emailed to customers on December 16 alluding that Nederland may not be affected by their planned outages.

“Xcel Energy is preparing for a significant weather event in Colorado in the coming days and is evaluating the need for a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) to reduce the risk of wildfire.

“You previously received communications indicating that you may be affected by a PSPS. We no longer expect your location will be impacted.

“However, we anticipate the extreme weather conditions may lead to power outages unrelated to the PSPS, given the forecast for strong winds that could down trees and power lines.”

Power was restored the following morning, but automated emails were already being sent out, indicating that a second PSPS was planned for Friday, December 19, at 5 a.m. 

The power was shut off at around 5:45 a.m., with restoration times estimated to start at 10 p.m. on Saturday being set back to after 6 p.m. that night, and then being re-estimated for 10 p.m. on December 20. 

“This event could impact mountain communities and parts of the Front Range, including areas already affected this week,” Xcel wrote. “Some locations may experience extended or repeated outages, possibly lasting multiple days.

“If your business was impacted earlier this week, or may be impacted again on Friday, you may want to plan for continued or intermittent power outages, delayed restoration timelines, and operational disruptions due to weather, debris, or safety conditions.”

Through the dark hours, the community commiserated and shared advice regarding mountain survival techniques, from using the light snow pack as “nature’s refrigerator,” to investing in generators and wood-burning stoves. 

The online conversation became an umbrella of complaints about their main, and only, electrical utilities provider, and an ouroboros of quibbling about whether to fight or to accept the “new norm.”

Gripes about Xcel relying on PSPS as their new insurance-mandated policy as a direct “retaliation” from the Marshall Fire lawsuits begat complaints of record profits and exorbitant CEO salaries, which begat criticism of the lack of advanced equipment and infrastructure improvements, which begat outcries for the undergrounding or reinforcing of lines, like current efforts in Lyons. 

Legitimate concerns about the Peak to Peak region’s older residents, those with physical impediments or with health risks requiring medical equipment or refrigerated medicine, were sometimes met with skepticism.

Some fellow community members stated that those who choose to live in the mountains should be aware of, and prepared for, the “inevitability” of losing power for several days. 

Some residents called for organizing a class action lawsuit against Xcel, while others urged that angry letters be written to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Interestingly, right now the regulatory commission is reviewing a request from Xcel to instate a 10% rate increase on residential customers in 2026.

While the demonizing of Xcel was in full effect on Facebook, some residents were singled out for “defending” the utility’s monopoly for drawing attention to the severity of the weather event, which recorded winds of 80 to 100 miles per hour, with dry conditions similar to those of the Marshall Fire. 

Though some argued that the Marshall Fire was also a result of an underground coal fire in combination with allegations that Xcel’s fire mitigation efforts prior to the fire were lackluster, it was evident from the number of downed trees and lines reported throughout town that this most recent weather event was significant.    

And while the online world seemed flushed with ire, the streets and stores of Nederland itself were still bustling with life and with smiles.

The U.S. Post Office was open to get some of the backed-up holiday boxes out to residents as they lined up in a long queue and held impromptu “town hall” meetings. 

Many stores and restaurants were able to open with either the bare essentials or with a generator to run basic functions like keeping refrigerators and freezers at their desired temperatures. 

Ace Hardware, Boogie Records, Covered Wagon, Kathmandu, Knotted Root, Mountain Man Outdoor Store, Mountain Peak Cafe, Mountain People’s Co-op, Ned General Store, Ubon, and others were open in some capacity, and some even held special events—a far cry from the previous year, when many businesses were hit hard and unexpectedly by a 72-hour power outage.  

Local business owners and staff went above and beyond to provide the essentials to the community, as did Town employees. The Nederland Community Center was provided as a warming shelter, charging station, and work space throughout the outages, and Town Works labored to clear fallen trees and debris from Nederland’s roads. 

Hardworking teams from Colorado Department of Transportation as well as Xcel’s own crews worked throughout the Peak to Peak region, Boulder and Gilpin Counties, and the Front Range to keep roads and power lines clear of debris and damage from the weather event. 

The power was restored on Saturday, December 20, at about 5:45 p.m., almost exactly 36 hours after it had been shut off. Diners eating by candlelight in Kathmandu erupted in cheers and applause as the lights clicked back on. 

And then it shut off again on Sunday morning, and a muffled voice from somewhere off in the distance was heard to scream, “Here we go again!” 

In April of 2024, winds of up to 78 miles per hour, combined with a significant drop in temperature, resulted in Xcel Energy purposely shutting off power to Boulder County and small sections of Gilpin, Larimer, Douglas, Broomfield, and Jefferson Counties—roughly 55,000 customers—for up to 72 hours. 

It was the first significant event where the public became aware of PSPS, Xcel’s new fire prevention and public safety policy. 

December of 2025: Xcel Energy purposely shut off the power to Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld Counties, which, when combined with all unplanned outages, affected over 100,000 customers over a total period of 96 hours. 

After the last power outage, restoration occurred within less than 30 minutes—barely enough to justify a Facebook complaint. But, as planned power outages have been confirmed as the “new norm,” who knows when the next time will be that the Peak to Peak community screams, “HERE WE GO AGAIN”?