The government in Boulder, CO, recently decided to look into the idea of forming its own power company as an alternative to Xcel Energy. But some residents of the city were perplexed when they received letters claiming to be from Xcel and stating that their service was being cut off.
Reads the letter:
[I]t has come to our attention that your household voted to allow City Council to sever relations with Xcel Energy. Our legal counsel informs us that we are no longer bound to provide our services to households such as yours. As a consequence, we will soon be ending service to your house.
Thankfully, this just isn’t true. And Xcel tell CBS Denver that it would be illegal for the company to cut off service.
“Under no circumstances will we cancel electric service to any customer in good standing,” said the company. “Communicating to our customers is very important to us and letters with obviously false information will not be tolerated.”
It’s not yet known who made the letter, which also states that Xcel has “already ended all Boulder residents’ ability to apply for energy-efficiency rebates and have blocked Boulder customers from participating in future solar gardens and long-term wind-power purchasing programs,” and whether their motives are political or if it’s merely a prank.
Xcel Says Somebody Is Circulating Fraudulent Letters To Boulder Residents [CBS Denver]
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…April Fools?
I LOL’ed
The pranksters will probably be charged with domestic terrorism when they are found.
Not as hilarious as the bogus AIDS letters from the Red Cross, but still pretty sweet . . .
“Xcel tell CBS Denver that it would be illegal for the company to cut off service.”
“Under no circumstances will we cancel electric service to any customer in good standing,”
So it’s not illegal to cut off service to someone if they’re not in good standing (not paying their bills).
…or technically no longer one of your customers.
A) Consumerist makes an opening comment
B) Supports that comment with the exact quote made by the source, thus clarifying any specifics.
I’m not sure where you are confused. Customers in good standing cannot have service terminated, legally. One would surmise that means customers not in good standing could have service terminated.
Well of course it’s not illegal to stop providing a service to someone who stops paying for it.
There’s enough Sun and Wind potential in the Boulder area that they could concievably create their own renerable energy town.
Don’t forget “hot air”! That’s the primary resource at their disposal, there are so many sources of it.
This has been a very divisive issue in these parts, and I think to call it a “prank” might be a bit too dismissive. The anti-municipalization crowd are extremely bitter over their loss.
Between Xcel, Xcel’s astroturf, & other anti-municipalization folks, there was an over-the-top campaign that included a ridiculous TV ads in which a woman started screaming at her husband & packed her bags after the lights flickered because he “voted for municipalization”. This foolishness seems to be a riff on that theme.
I think the same commercial ran in Longmont when they started their municipal power in 1886