A letter bearing the Xcel Energy logo appeared in some Boulder mailboxes over the weekend informing residents that their electricity was going to be turned off because the company had learned the recipients voted to authorize creating a municipal utility, which was approved at the polls in November.
“Our legal counsel informs us that we are no longer bound to provide our services to households such as yours,” the letter says. “As a consequence, we will soon be ending service to your house.”
The letter appears to be an April Fools’ Day joke, but Xcel officials say it’s not funny.
“The way I view it is as an outright illegal fraud,” said Jerome Davis, Xcel’s regional vice president. “If people think it’s some sort of humorous joke, they are mistaken.”
Davis said Xcel received calls from customers who thought the letter was real, though he didn’t know how many.
The letter played on the real dispute between the city of Boulder and Xcel over access to rebate and incentive programs for residents in the wake of last year’s municipalization vote. Erica Meltzer and Amy Bounds, Daily Camera
