As tens of thousands of Xcel Energy customers remained without power Saturday morning, officials said criticism about what some called the organization’s lack of communication was unwarranted. Robert Kenney, president of Xcel Energy Colorado, said that the company had communicated with customer s as early as last week about potential power shutoffs, and had worked with local offices of emergency management to keep re-energization statuses up-to-date and accurate. The president’s comments came at the end of a week during which the energy provider turned off the power multiple times to at least 48,000 people amidst severe winds and extreme wildfire danger. As many as 160,000 were without power at some points, officials said, but Xcel did not provide a concrete timeline as to when that power would be restored until Saturday morning. In an evening news release, Xcel said it was still on track to have most power restored by 10 p.m. Saturday, with the main exceptions in the Evergreen area. After many voiced their frustration with Xcel online, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a statement Friday afternoon asking the provider to give its customers more transparency as to when they would see a resolution to the outage. “No Coloradan should be wondering if they will or will not have power, and when it may be turned on again, or worse, receive no communication or confusing communication,” Polis said in the statement. “Xcel energy must do their part in keeping communities safe, while also ensuring they are  informing communities with the best, most up-to-date information possible before, during and after weather events so that people, schools and institutions can make informed decisions.” Xcel Energy Colorado President Robert Kenney speaks to the media about Xcel’s ongoing power outages on Dec. 20, 2025. (Michael Braithwaite / The Denver Gazette) As about 60,000 Xcel customers were still without power as of 11 a.m. Saturday, some of whom had seen no or only temporary power restorations since it was first shut off Wednesday morning, according to Xcel Energy’s Electric Outage Map, Kenney called the governor’s statement “unfortunate” and “uninformed.” “I thought the governor’s statement about our communications was unfortunate and didn’t reflect, I think, an assessment of the full facts,” Kenney said. Crews couldn’t start restoration until Friday night While Xcel’s initial estimate was that crews would be able to begin the inspection and restoration work necessary to re-energize the lines around 6 p.m. Friday, the energy provider sent an update Friday morning that noted the severe conditions had pushed back that time frame until between 8 and 10 p.m. But many of those crews, pushing up against the end of their 16-hour shifts, had to cease their work around 11:30 p.m., Kenney noted at Saturday’s conference. It was the second time this week that many of Xcel’s crews had to stop working for shift-related reasons, despite tens of thousands of customers still in the dark. Downed trees lay on power lines across Witter Gulch Road in Evergreen on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) “We have to be mindful of their safety as well, so they did go home and get rest and started back up at first light,” Kenney said. “It’s very difficult during the dark to be able to assess damage, and so we want to make sure that when we’re assessing damage, we’re assessing damage correctly.” The president added that those crews restarted their work around 6 a.m. Saturday. While Kenney said that some customers will remain without power as late as Sunday or, in some cases, Monday, Xcel officials noted in a Saturday morning news release they expect most customers to see their power return by 10 p.m. Saturday. Over 40,000 Xcel customers remained without power as of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the outage map. Winds in foothills to subside throughout weekend Severe wildfire conditions, including 100 mph wind gusts and an abundance of uber-dry vegetation, prompted the state’s largest energy provider to intentionally turn off the power to over 60,000 people on Friday, but those conditions were expected to subside greatly Saturday morning. Saturday was forecasted to see a high near 57 degrees, with a breeze between 8 and 14 mph and gusts of up to 31 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Downed trees lay on power lines across Witter Gulch Road in Evergreen on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) Sunday is expected to be even calmer, with a west wind between 5 and 8 mph and gusts reaching about 15. Additionally rain is forecasted to fall in some areas throughout the weekend, an additional assist to dealing with the bone-dry conditions that contributed to the week’s significant wildfire risk, and, in turn, Xcel’s decision to turn off the power. Holiday events canceled due to weather and outages In light of the whirling winds and lack of power, several holiday events in the foothills were rescheduled or canceled Friday and Saturday. In Superior, the Boulder Film Friends and Teen Night: Frost Flannel Fest were rescheduled to January due to the wind conditions, according to the Town of Superior’s website. Additionally, the Superior Community Center and Superior Civic Space closed early Friday afternoon. Golden’s Jingle on the Avenue, a free parade scheduled for Saturday featuring costumed characters jingling through downtown, was canceled as the town continues to face uncertain time frames for power restoration, according to Visit Golden’s website. Cars drive past downed power lines on Witter Gulch Road in Evergreen on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) Those two events were not the only ones this week to face the repercussions of the severe weather and power outages. On Wednesday, Denver canceled its nightly Mile High Drone Show and Christkindlmarkt because of the severe winds. Additionally, Eldora Ski Resort closed for the day Friday, citing the power outage as why. As of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, over 400 flights in and out of Denver International Airport had been delayed, down from over 1,000 on Friday, according to flightaware.com. Thirteen had been canceled. Resource centers remain open In partnership with the American Red Cross, Xcel opened several resource centers at the following locations for customers affected by the outages, according to Saturday’s release. • Georgetown Community Center: 613 Sixth St., Georgetown; open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. • Carmody Middle School: 2050 S. Kipling St., Lakewood; open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Gilpin County Overnight Shelter: 10595 Highway 119, Black Hawk; open 24 hours • Clear Creek Health and Wellness Center: 1969 Miner St., Idaho Springs; open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Berthoud Fire Station: 248 Welch Ave., Berthoud; open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. ...read more read less