Emergency Status
Jan 04

Xcel Energy restoring power, natural gas to those in previously evacuated areas

Xcel Energy has restored power to most customers in areas evacuated for the Marshall Fire. Furthermore, 500+ natural gas crew members are in the neighborhoods, going house to house to relight pilot lights of natural gas appliances where evacuation orders have been lifted. If possible, customers are asked to ensure the water is turned on at their homes before relights are done, so their water heater pilot light can be re-lit at the same time as their furnace. 

Because customers need to be home at the time of relights, those jobs in the remaining areas will begin once evacuation orders are lifted. As of Monday afternoon, natural gas restoration neared the halfway mark, with nearly 6,000 relights completed. 

As crews work to restore service to the approximately 13,000 customers whose service was turned off due to the fires, the restoration work has been divided into nine regions. A map of the regions is below. 

With the exception of regions 5, 6, 7 and 8, customers should not call Xcel Energy to schedule relights of pilot lights on their appliances unless they have received a door tag with instructions to do so. As crews go from door to door, they will confirm that the customer’s natural gas meter is working properly before completing their relights. Someone 18 years or older will need to be home for crews to do relights. If customers are not home, we will leave a door tag letting them know how to have their relight completed. Crews will knock on doors to do relights between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. 

As work progresses, customers can find updates on xcelenergy.com or on the company’s Facebook page. Updates for each region:

  • Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 – Natural gas has been reintroduced to the system and crews are going door to door to re-light pilot lights in customers’ appliances, for portions of the region not under an evacuation order. Customers who are not home to have relights completed will receive a door tag with information on how to get their relight completed.
  • Regions 5, 6, 7, 8 – Service is restored and pilot lights have been re-lit for the majority of customers in this area. If a customer in this region has not yet had natural gas service restored, please contact us at 800-895-2999. 

As an important safety reminder, if you ever detect a sulfur or “rotten egg” smell inside or near your home, it could be the odorant Xcel puts in natural gas to help detect leaks. If you notice that smell, leave your home immediately. Do not turn any electrical devices on or off and never use any phone until you are outside and safely away from the area. Then, call Xcel at 1-800-895-2999. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.