Attachment A - Power Reliability and Resilience Engagement Results

Community and Council Forum, October 8, 2026 · item 1: Council Priority Project: Power Reliability and Resilience Community and Council Forum Staff Time: 30 Min Council Time: 150 Min · 42 pages

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Power Reliability & Resilience Public Engagement Summary

Climate Initiatives

Contents

Executive summary Project overview How we engaged What we heard How input is being used Next steps

Executive Summary

Climate Initiatives | Engagement Findings

State of the community ➢Dissatisfaction with power reliability in Boulder is strong, especially in certain neighborhoods. ➢Extended power outages have disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations. ➢People with disabilities have individualized needs. ➢Frontline communities, the faith community and nonprofits are all actively pursing increased resilience through physical hubs, trainings and mobilization. ➢Preparedness among Boulder residents is growing, with some remaining barriers.

Community preferences ➢Elevating community-led resilience efforts within frontline communities should remain a core principle for future city actions. ➢Most community members are unlikely to access services at a government facility during extended power outages. ➢Community members are split on whether to invest city dollars in additional undergrounding for power lines. ➢There is some interest in distributed energy systems to increase redundancy and power reliability. ➢Many community members are seeking residential backup batteries. ➢There is strong interest in increased advocacy through regulatory processes.

Project Overview Climate Initiatives | Engagement Findings

The problem ➢ The electric grid in Boulder is a lot less reliable than it was 10 years ago, with longer and more frequent outages. ➢ Infrastructure is aging and failing, worsened by weather-related damage. ➢ As drought, high winds and wildfire risk threatens Boulder, Xcel Energy has implemented Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPSs) or Enhanced Power Safety Settings (EPSS). ➢ PSPS or EPSS proactively or automatically de-energize power lines during high-risk conditions to reduce wildfire risk. ➢ They also have disproportionate impacts on vulnerable, frontline communities, such as manufactured home communities, people with disabilities, and people of color.

Power Reliability and Resilience: Preliminary Goals

By 2028, the network of community resilience hubs has grown

By 2030, communitywide reliability has improved to levels consistent with historical averages

By 2035, all community members benefit from reliable power solutions, consistent with peer communities along Front Range

Project Approach

How we engaged Climate Initiatives | Engagement Findings

General public Venue

Participation

Virtual Town Hall – January 2026 Community questionnaire (available in English/Spanish) – July to August 2026

135

Farmers market – July 2026

1,200 webpage visitors 494 responses 30% responses from South Boulder 23% responses from North Boulder 55

Emails

A note on community questionnaire • 10% of respondents are non-white, less than the percentage of non-white city residents. • Homeowners are overrepresented in the respondent pool (renters are underrepresented). • People are more likely to respond to a questionnaire if they are dissatisfied with a product or service. • This questionnaire is only one data point among many others collected through this engagement process.

Frontline communities* Venue

Audience(s)

Primos Park event – May 2026

Participation

Residents in Boulder Meadows and Ponderosa manufactured home communities (MHC) Community-led preparedness MHC residents in Boulder Meadows and training** – May 2026 Ponderosa + others

Listening Session with Center People with disabilities and older adults for People with Disabilities – July 2026 Community Resilience Frontline communities, nonprofits, faith Workshop – July 2026 community

FLOWS Resilience training** – August 2026

Frontline communities

* The term “frontline communities” emerged from the environmental justice movement to describe historically marginalized com munities such as those comprised of people of color, people with disabilities, people with low incomes or limited English proficiency. ** At the invitation of frontline community leaders, staff observed these sessions and engaged in conversation with participa nts to understand their concerns.

Boulder/Xcel Partnership Advisory Panel

https://bouldercolorado.gov/projects/xcel-energy-partnership

Panel members helped co-design two surveys for: - General public - Food service industry

Business community Venue

Panel members at a Chamber of Commerce event on power and water

Partici pation

Chamber of Commerce PSPS questionnaire – Dec 2025*

Chamber of Commerce Workshop* – August 2026

Food service questionnaire – September 2026

*These engagements were led by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with city staff.

Nonprofits Resilience Hub Pilot Program: 20 applications from a broad range of community-serving organizations

Community Resilience Workshop with nonprofits, faith community and frontline community leaders

What we heard Climate Initiatives | Engagement Findings

Power Reliability: General themes • 56% of respondents to the online questionnaire are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with power reliability. • 82% of respondents report 3 or more outages in last 12 months. • People with disabilities require individualized support with specific needs. • There are parts of town that experience more outages than others. Results of an exercise with community to indicate how power outages are affecting their lives – as compared to Xcel Energy’s data on power reliability

Power Reliability: High-Priority Areas Manufactured home community resident:

Questionnaire respondent: “There are frequent power outages, sometimes 2 to 3 per month for the Park East Square HOA”

Areas in yellow loosely represent neighborhoods experiencing increased outages.

Power Reliability: Additional community quotes “I live in a condo building and have a mobility disability. With these outages I was unable to leave the building for fear I would not be able to return to my home. Moreover, our parking garage gate was disabled due to no power so residents could not get their cars out of the parking area. This would have been catastrophic for me had there been a fire - I could not leave the area.”

Power Reliability: Additional community quotes “I'm on oxygen and cannot use my concentrator [when power goes out]. Xcel cannot provide me with an additional Solar backup because "I don't live in a wildfire area". I do however live in a mobile home that can go up in a matter of moments. I cannot keep my food cold for as long as the outages have lasted and I'm a low income person as well. “I live on an agricultural property and my only water source is my well. When my electricity is out, my well pump doesn’t work. We had an outage that lasted several days and my livestock ran out of water. This event was scary and stressful on my livestock.” – might be in county enclave “The power outages have been a HUGE issue. We are considering moving our company out of boulder because of the power issues. This needs to stop.”

Preparedness •

58% of questionnaire respondents feel unprepared or very unprepared for a future power outage. Top concerns include: • keeping fold cold • staying warm enough in winter • getting accurate alerts and updates from Xcel Energy • having reliable cell service or internet

•

To prepare, many respondents have signed up for emergency alerts, made of an emergency kit or list of needs in an outage, and/or made a go-bag in the event of an evacuation

•

Language access remains a barrier regarding emergency alerts and preparedness

•

Some nonprofits and small businesses don’t have power outage plans

Accessing services during outages • No one-size-fits-all approach

• Most survey respondents are much more likely to go to the home of family or friends than to: • • •

Government facility (rec center, library, school) A familiar public place or a place of worship Hotel

• People with disabilities are more likely to go somewhere they know is truly accessible. • Interest in mobile support hub(s) emerged from frontline communities.

Defining community resilience - Elevating leaders within frontline communities (BIPOC, low-income, people with disabilities, youth) - Addressing root causes and systemic inequities so frontline communities aren’t always asked to be resilient - Relationship-building - Mutual support and reciprocity - Collaborative preparedness - Adaptability and continuity Reflections from a listening session with nonprofits, community-based organizations and frontline community leaders (July 27, 2026)

Community-led resilience: Training & community building Efforts across the city include: - Community-led Preparedness Training - FLOWS Community Resilience Intensive - Climate Justice Hive gatherings - Neighborhood Village Project - Harvest of All First Nations: Indigenous Relations Consultants - Si se puede - Organizing across faith community

Community-led Preparedness Training Photo credit: Rebecca Caridad

Community-led resilience: Hubs Physical resilience hubs (existing or underway): • Mapleton Mobile Home Association • Frasier Meadows* • BHP properties: • • •

• • • • • •

Tantra Lake (TBD) Red Oak (TBD) Diagonal - Hawthorn Neighborhood Resilience Hub**

All Roads Shelter** Center for People with Disabilities (CPWD)** Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA)** Harvest of Hope Food Pantry** KGNU* Presbyterian Manor**

Faith community’s vision for a Community Resilience Network Concept: A coordinated system of interconnected resilience hubs that can operate independently during emergencies while supporting one another through distributed energy resources and shared planning.”

* Currently operational ** Supported by funding from City of Boulder’s Solar and Battery Tax Rebate program

Community-led resilience: Other learnings Participants in a city listening session with nonprofits, community-based organizations and frontline community leaders (July 27, 2026)

Frontline communities have been asking for resilience hubs for at least ten years Boulder County’s Climate Equity Fund is currently facilitating lots of community action Frontline communities want to lead and selforganize on an ongoing basis Not having access to land, facilities or resources is a barrier Nonprofits and the faith community are playing active roles Safe and effective communication during emergencies is critical While successful, major investments like those in Mapleton Mobile Home Association may not be feasible or scalable elsewhere There is interest in exploring mobile resilience hubs

Community-led resilience: Distributed energy

Concept under development by community leaders, CU graduate students, and frontline community leaders

Strategies: Community is split on approach to Xcel partnership QUESTION: Of the two options below, please select the strategy you believe is more important.

248 questionnaire respondents

Continue advocacy through state regulatory process

Use additional taxpayer funds to help accelerate improvements, such as moving power lines underground

244 questionnaire respondents

Strategies: Preliminary Priorities Residential batteries

Ann Arbor model

Strategies: Other Suggestions •

Advocate for Xcel Energy to: • Improve communications, advance warnings and accurate updates from Xcel, especially for renters or residents in Boulder Housing Partners communities • Offer incentives or rebates for backup batteries for qualifying food service businesses • Provide or support mobile refrigeration units for shared commercial use during extended outages

•

Advocate for stronger state and federal requirements for backup power for cell towers serving the city

•

Support radio communications when systems go down

•

Secure backup power for major traffic lights

•

Explore creating a system of City-owned energy infrastructure

Advocacy for things outside city control

Exploring options within city control

How input is being used

Public input is a major factor in developing a roadmap for improving power reliability in Boulder

Specifically, public input to date has informed a refined set of potential strategies that selected community members and City Council will explore together in an upcoming forum.

Public input

City Council

Funding realities

Power Reliability and Resilience Roadmap

Next steps

Next steps October 8, 2026 • Community and Council Forum to refine and prioritize strategies

February 2027 • Power Reliability and Resilience Roadmap goes to City Council

Mid-2027 + • Roadmap finalized and shared • Implementation begins for strategies in final roadmap, with additional engagement as needed

Appendix: Questionnaire Responses

Questionnaire Respondents Where in Boulder do you live? Gunbarrel

North Boulder

115

Palo Park Central Boulder

Yes Woman

257 No

372

Prefer not to say

University Hill

University of Colorado

Crossroads

East Boulder

Southeast Boulder

South Boulder

142

Unincorporated Boulder County surrounding the city I live outside Boulder

What is your gender?

Are you a member of the LGBTQ+ community?

Man

174

Non-binary/ Genderqueer

Prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

Which race(s) and/or ethnic group(s) do you most identify with?

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Black or African-American

Latine/Latinx/Hispanic

Middle Eastern or North African

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

White

413

Other (please specify)

Questionnaire Respondents, cont. What is your age range?

18 to 24

25 to 34

How would you describe your annual household income? Less than $25,000 a year

$25,000 to $49,999 a year

$50,000 to $99,999 a year

35 to 54

121

$100,000 to $149,999 a year

55 to 65

$150,000 a year or more

149

I prefer not to say

110

65 and over

I prefer not to say

Do you rent or own your home?

Own

413

Rent

I prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

208

Questionnaire Findings: Reliability How satisfied are you with the reliability of electric service in your area?

Very dissatisfied

Even if you have backup power, how many times in the last 12 months has your primary power gone out where you live? None

Infrequently (1-2 times) Dissatisfied

Very satisfied

180

April 6, 2024

173

December 17, 2025

294

December 19, 2025

282

March 14, 2026

203

None of the above

Unsure

167

190 Sometimes (3-4 times)

Satisfied

Which, if any, Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event(s) affected power where you live? (select all that apply)

216

Often (5 or more times)

189

Unsure

Questionnaire Findings: Preparedness What steps have you taken to prepare for a possible power outage in the future?

To what extent do you feel prepared for an extended power outage in your area in the future?

Very unprepared

Unprepared

Prepared

Very prepared

226

178

If you were to experience an extended power outage in the future, what would you be most concerned about? Please select your top three concerns from the list below.

Strengthened connections with neighbors and community

187

Getting accurate alerts and updates

194

Signed up for emergency alerts

370

Getting accurate online maps of impacted areas

Charging medical devices

Refrigerating medication

Keeping food cold

285

Preparing food

Accessing enough food

Accessing clean water

Staying cool enough in summer

Staying warm enough in winter

229

Finding temporary lodging

Explored the Office of Disaster Management’s website (www.boulderodm.gov) Taken one or more emergency preparedness trainings Made an emergency kit or list of items you would need in a power outage Prepared a “go-bag” and/or a list of important things to take with you if you need to evacuate

172

217

241

Assembled a supply of nonperishable foods and water

170

Invested in a backup power source like a generator or battery

177

Charging phones and other personal devices Charging and operating home office equipment

76 34

Having reliable cell service or internet

181

Paying for related expenses, such as replacing spoiled food or temporary lodging

Other (please specify)

Sought or received financial assistance for a back-up power source

None of the above

Other (please specify)

Questionnaire Findings: Accessing services during outages During an extended outage in the future, how likely are you to access services like heating, cooling, refrigeration, or charging devices in the following locations? A government facility like a recreation center, library, or school

A public place I regularly go, like a place of worship or community gathering place

A temporary, mobile support station that would come to your area, if impacted

A hotel, motel or rentable location outside of the impacted areas

A home of friends or family living outside of the impacted areas

Very unlikely

108

Very unlikely

163

Very unlikely

106

Very unlikely

Unlikely

163

Unlikely

174

Unlikely

124

Unlikely

159

Unlikely

Likely

136

Likely

176

Likely

125

Likely

173

Very likely

146

Unsure

Questionnaire Findings: Strategies Of the two options below, please select the strategy you believe is more important.

The city should continue working with Xcel Energy and advocating through the state regulatory process. This approach uses fewer city funds but may mean some improvements take longer.

The city should use additional taxpayer funds to help accelerate improvements, such as moving power lines underground. This approach may lead to faster improvements but could mean fewer city funds are available for other community priorities.

248

The City of Boulder is exploring ways to supplement the electric grid with backup power. Please select one strategy from the list below that you believe would best meet the needs of you and your neighborhood. Offering residential backup batteries for lowincome community members, at low or no cost

Offering incentives or rebates for residential backup batteries

176

Exploring community-scale solar energy and battery storage with interested neighborhoods

148

Developing mobile support units and supporting partnerships to provide temporary power and refrigeration during outages

Investing in backup power for certain city facilities so that those facilities can serve as resiliency centers during outages

Other (please specify)

244