Fraudulent Xcel Energy Letter Possibly A Political Statement

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Is it a prank or a political statement? Xcel Energy customers in Boulder have been getting letters warning that their power will be shut off.

Xcel says the letters are fraudulent but they've drawn a lot of phone calls from worried customers.

The letters have the Xcel logo, an actual Xcel number to call, a little slogan, and all the little things that would make them seem real. The problem is happening in Boulder where someone is slipping the letters under people's doors.

"They see the Xcel Energy logo, regardless of what exactly it says people tend to believe it's the real thing. That created the call situation," Gabriel Romero with Xcel Energy said.

Residents are worried because it says Xcel is ending their service.

"People thought it was a real letter and they were concerned we were going to shut their power off," Romero said. "Not everybody knows of course that's illegal."

So is it a prank, or someone trying to make a statement or even send a message? The letter refers to a recent election in Boulder where residents voted to create a committee to look into the possibility of making their own power company.

The letter says, "It has come to our attention that your household voted to allow city council to sever relations with Xcel Energy." And because of that, they don't need to provide power to their home.

"To put two and two together would be pretty simple, but we don't know that and that's what we're looking to find out," Romero said.

Xcel doesn't know who sent out the letter and wants people to know it has no merit.

Xcel says if they're going to contact to a residence they're not going to slip a paper under the door. It will come in an official Xcel envelope such as a bill.

The Fraudulent Letter

Due to recent disclosure by the Boulder City Council under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, Xcel Energy has been given voter files relating to consumer preferences in the recent election. We have 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.

Now, as a result of this information, it 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.