During its Tuesday, August 4 regular meeting the Chaffee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) had the opportunity to hear directly from Xcel Energy Colorado CEO Robert Kenney regarding the company’s wildfire mitigation efforts in the central mountain service area. Valdez has taken some Salida-area “slings and arrows” over the past months, particularly during the mid-March 2026 power outages that lasted for days. Xcel Colorado CEO Kenney acknowledged the problems and focused on the actions being taken by Xcel Energy to mitigate wildfires and improve performance,“Our top priorities are to provide safe, reliable energy at the lowest cost possible,” began Kenney. “The first part of that is enhanced power line safety settings, and the second part are our public safety power shutoffs.” Per the presentation, it was learned that Xcel Energy has already replaced 15 miles of lines with underground connection, and has another mile still to complete in the county.