A Texas district court ordered Xcel, an electric utility with more than 200,000 customers in Texas, on Monday to replace poles within wildfire-prone areas it has identified as damaged, following an agreement between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the utility.
In a news release, Paxton called the development a first step toward holding Xcel accountable for the 2024 wildfires that scorched through a million acres of the Texas Panhandle, killing scores of cattle and at least three people. Shortly after the devastation began, Xcel admitted the pole that sparked the fire was theirs.
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“Xcel has made the right decision in working with my office and ultimately agreeing to take these critical first steps,” Paxton said in a statement. “… I will continue to fight to ensure that justice is served and that wildfires will no longer be sparked by the negligence of a utility provider.”
The agreement “largely tracks the pole-replacement procedures Xcel Energy proactively implemented two years ago, after the Smokehouse Creek fire,” said Xcel, in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “We’ll continue working with the state of Texas as we focus on the wildfire mitigation work to help keep the public safe.”
Numerous investigations and lawsuits have followed the wildfire. Most recently, Paxton in December sued the utility seeking monetary damages. Earlier this year, the Texas Tribune reported on the efforts of Panhandle businessman Salem Abraham to banish Xcel as the utility provider altogether.
“Anything Paxton can do to force Xcel to improve is great news,” Abraham said following the news of the injunction.
The injunction today orders Xcel to replace all poles with severe structural deterioration located in high wildfire risk areas within 14 days.
The company must then notify the state in writing once replacements are completed. Moving forward, all newly identified high-priority poles must be replaced no later than one day after being reported or discovered.
The injunction also requires Xcel to conduct large-scale inspections of its infrastructure in high-risk wildfire areas and inspect at least 35,000 poles annually.
Xcel officials say the company has already taken steps to strengthen its infrastructure.
According to company leaders, Xcel has replaced more than 19,000 poles since 2021 and invested more than $111 million in wooden pole safety and reliability.
The utility has also implemented a wildfire mitigation plan, installed artificial intelligence cameras that can detect wildfires and alert nearby cities, adopted wildfire-resistant equipment to reduce ignition risk and moved certain electrical distribution systems underground.
In a statement in January, the company said 80 remaining high-priority poles are not located in high wildfire risk areas and are being replaced on an expedited basis. Replacing those can cost more than $15,000, according to the company. Additionally, Xcel said earlier this year it has 1,338 poles that are due for replacement, many of which are low priority.