BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado PUC E-Filings System

IN THE MATTER OF THE VERIFIED PETITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO FOR EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF A PARTIAL TEMPORARY VARIANCE FROM CERTAIN QUALITY OF SERVICE PLAN TERMS IN COLO PUC NO.7 ELECTRIC TARIFF FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO NEDERLAND CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING EXTRAORDINARY OUTAGES, AND MOTION FOR WAIVER OF NOTICE AND INTERVENTION PERIOD AND RESPONSE TIME TO THE PETITION

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DOCKET NO. 14A-

E

VERIFIED PETITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO FOR EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF A PARTIAL TEMPORARY VARIANCE FROM CERTAIN QUALITY OF SERVICE PLAN TERMS IN COLO PUC NO. 7 ELECTRIC TARIFF FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO NEDERLAND CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING EXTRAORDINARY OUTAGES, AND MOTION FOR WAIVER OF NOTICE AND INTERVENTION PERIOD AND RESPONSE TIME TO THE PETITION

Public Service Company of Colorado ("Public Service" or "Company"), through its undersigned counsel and pursuant to Rules 1003, 1206, 1304 and 1400 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, respectfully requests that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission ("Commission") grant this verified petition for expedited approval of a partial temporary variance from certain Quality of Service Plan ("QSP") terms in the Company's COLO. PUC No. 7 Electric Tariff ("Tariff") for the purpose of making

additional

payments

to

Nederland

customers

who

have

experienced

extraordinary outages ("Petition"), and moves for waiver of notice and intervention period and response time to the Petition ("Motion"). In support of the Petition, Public Service states:

I.

INTRQPUCTIQN

Public Service electric customers in the vicinity of the town of Nederland, Colorado have experienced an excessive number of sustained electric service interruptions from August, 2013 through January, 2014. Because of the unique and unprecedented number of sustained outages, the Company respectfully requests expedited approval of a partial, temporary variance from certain

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provisions in the Tariff. If the variance is granted,

Public Service intends to give to individual Nederland customers a one time payment, above and beyond any required

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bill credits, of $200. Expedited treatment by the

Commission is warranted because the extraordinary number of outages recently experienced

in a concentrated time period by Nederland customers justifies a

correspondingly unusual and timely response from the Company. The

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terms in the Tariff provide that shareholder funds are used for payment

of a $50 bill credit for customers that experience a specific number, Le., greater than five, or a specific duration, Le., greater than 24 hours, of sustained electric service outages within a calendar year. The number of outages in Nederland is far beyond the thresholds addressed in the

asp. 2013 Nederland CEMI Data 1 Sustained Interruptions

Number of Premises

11-15

11

16-20

563

21-25

322

CEMI is an acronym for Customers Experiencing Multiple Interruptions. Sustained Interruptions are interruptions resulting in outages greater than or equal to five minutes in length. This data is for the time period August, 2013 through January, 2014. If the Petition is granted there may be slight variations from the numbers in the above table when additional data review is performed by the Company as the payments are processed.

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II.

RELIEF PAYMENT

Public Service intends to make a one-time payment to the impacted individual Nederland customers in the amount of $200. A letter of support from the Mayor of the Town of Nederland is attached hereto as Attachment A. The payment will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the automatic July, 2014 aSP-required $50 bill credit payment that will be received by the same customers. The payment will be made from shareholder funds. The Public Service customers that will receive the additional payment will be those Nederland premises or, in a few cases, premises outside of the Nederland zip code that are normally served from the Boulder Hydro 2534B feeder downstream of recloser RCL_070-294, located at 45 Hurricane Hill Drive, Nederland, CO. In this limited circumstance, because the Company desires to make a one-time, exceptional payment from shareholder funds that are above and beyond the well-defined asp Tariff remedy for outages, in an abundance of caution, and to keep the Commission informed, the Company is seeking Commission approval of the payment.

III.

THE NEDERLAND QUTAGES CIRCUMSTANCES

The circumstances of the unprecedented quantity of sustained outages are unique, causing recent poor quality of electric service for our Nederland customers. These Nederland customers have experienced a "perfect storm" of electric system outages. Several large, singular outage-causing events beginning in August have had a pancake effect on the distribution system serving the Nederland area. Additionally, Nederland is already challenging to serve because it is remote, surrounded by rugged mountain terrain, experiences high winds, and is served off of two long and higher voltage radial

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lines. Due to Nederland's location and weather, the electric distribution system can suffer more than the usual number of outages. Additionally, when system upgrade investments are made for Nederland, due to the radial service, planned outages are required. The two primary events contributing to the recent extraordinary outage situation in Nederland were the catastrophic flooding beginning in mid-September, and a previously scheduled construction project driven primarily by new load at the Eldora ski area. The September flooding had longer-lasting impacts causing numerous sustained outages in late September and into the following months. The previously scheduled re-conductor construction project for the Eldora ski area involves six miles of distribution line rebuild, and 1.5 miles of double circuit line replacement. Due to a variety of circumstances, including land access permitting, the project was delayed. The delay required that construction occur in winter weather conditions, a significant contributing factor to the large quantity of sustained outages. Nederland's higher voltages and winter conditions combine to make the project work more tedious, hazardous, slow and susceptible to outages. Because of the higher line voltages, crews are not able to hand glove the equipment, more cumbersome tools are required, and safety precautions are paramount. High winds are more common in the Nederland area during winter. If the winds are greater than 30 mph, crew safety is impacted and bucket truck use becomes restricted, which also slows things down and increases the potential for outages. There is no vehicle access for much of the line, and the rockiness of the land requires hand digging of pole holes, and the use of a helicopter for pole sets. These are just a few examples of the many Nederland-specific conditions that have contributed to the unusual quantity of construction-related outages.

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The attached outage summary table, Attachment B provides a high-level overview of the number of customers impacted and outage duration, with the outage cause code explanation, since August, 2013. For example, the outage summary shows in August many lightning related events, and that flooding-related impacts may have carried over into October and November. Also, Attachment B demonstrates the challenges of the delayed re-conductoring capital investment project, which began in September.

IV.

FUTURE NEpERLAND RELIABILITy

The construction project was required due to new load at the Eldora ski area. The project is divided into phases. Because the phase of the project that was delayed, and the one that will likely have the most effect on electric service reliability in the Nederland area, has been completed as of February 7, 2014, the Company expects the extraordinary outages due to construction to subside dramatically. Re-conductoring is now completed, which should substantially resolve the reliability problems. Barring unforeseen circumstances, electric service reliability should return to normal for the Nederland area. The necessary, additional work on the next phases of the project will not begin again until mid-April, 2014. The Company has assembled an internal team that will work diligently on improving reliability in Nederland in the future. That team will address Nederland-specific best practices and lessons learned. Some of the reliability investments that are being considered include additional automation and communication devices that will enable reduced outage duration and engineering solutions that will increase system resilience.

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For the Commission's information, a summary of recent electric system capital investments in the Nederland area is attached as Attachment C. The current re-conductoring project will be a $5.2 million capital investment when all phases are complete. An overhead distribution rebuild project completed in 2013 shows an expenditure of $1.7 million. And, flooding restoration work for the Nederland area cost $2.4 million. Cost estimates for the additional, contemplated reliability projects, discussed above, are not yet available. Attachment C shows that substantial, reliability-improvement investments have been made recently, are currently being made, and are planned for the near future in Nederland. We also propose to submit to the Town of Nederland, in early 2015, a follow-up accountability report for year 2014 that will track the Company's service performance. The report will also focus on accountability and capital investment spending for our Nederland customers. A copy of the report will be provided to the Commission as well. Furthermore, the Company is working in close collaboration with Nederland community leadership to pro-actively develop opportunities to market and promote economic development and other community activities. This may assist in offsetting some of the negative business impacts related to the outages. Only shareholder funds will be used. This information is being provided to the Commission for information only and regulatory approval is not being sought for those activities.

v. The

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SPECIFIC QSP vARIANCE REQUESTED

tariff terms (Colo. PUC No. 7 Electric Tariff Sheets No. 105 - 105L)

already provide for Bill Credit Adjustments for customers. The bill credit is determined on

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an annual basis and is usually on the customer's July bill. A single annual $50 bill credit is provided for customers that experience more than five Sustained Electric Service Interruptions (SESI), generally an interruption that exceeds five minutes in duration, in a year. The

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tariff terms also provide for a $50 bill credit for each interruption that is

greater than 24 hours. There are annual caps to the total amount of money the Company pays out each year in bill credits. Given the unusual and extremely high number of sustained outages experienced by our Nederland customers, Public Service believes that it would be appropriate to provide our Nederland customers an additional bill credit this year. This offer is justified because our Nederland customers have not been similarly situated to our other customers in terms of the number of outages that they have experienced over the last six months. Consequently, Public Service believes that it is reasonable to treat our Nederland customers differently. The difference in service reliability provided our Nederland customers over the last six months justifies the higher bill credit and should not be considered to be a preference under C.R.S. § 40-3-106. Because of the Filed-Rate Doctrine, variances from the terms of the tariff are not common, and the Company is not seeking to modify, amend, waive or in any way change the tariff. However, Rule 1003 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure expressly authorizes the Commission to grant a variance of the tariff when requested by the utility: "The Commission may, for good cause shown, grant waivers or variances from tariffs, Commission rules, and substantive requirements contained in Commission decisions." If the Commission agrees with the Company that a variance from our

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tariff is warranted in this situation, the Company asks the Commission to specifically find

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in granting the variance that no preference is being granted to Nederland and that the additional bill credits are just and reasonable in these circumstances. It is the exceptional number of sustained outages within a relatively short time frame that the Nederland community has experienced that provides good cause for this request.

VI.

RULE 1003 REQUIREMENTS

The following information is provided by Public Service, as required by Rule 1003, 4 Code Colo. Regs. 723-1. (a)

Rule 1003(c):

(I)

Citations to the specific page of the tariff from which the variance is sought: Sheet 105 - "The

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also establishes electric service

Continuity and Restoration thresholds to measure the level of electric service delivered to individual customers residing within Operating Regions with an Outage Management System (OMS). If the Company's performance falls below the established thresholds for the Performance Year, then the

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specifies the consequences

that follow from such performance, including additional reporting and payment of bill credits under certain circumstances." Sheet 105K - the limitation of a single annual bill credit of $50 Sheet 105L - the limitation of a single annual bill credit of $50 All other Tariff terms, not specifically listed above should remain undisturbed.

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(II)

A statement of the variance requested: This Petition seeks a partial, temporary, variance from certain above-listed Quality of Service Plan terms in the Company's Colo. PUC No. 7 Electric Tariff for the purpose of making additional payments to Nederland customers who have experienced extraordinary outages,

(III)

A statement of facts and circumstances relied upon to demonstrate why the Commission should grant the request: See Section III of this Petition which is incorporated here by reference.

(IV)

A statement regarding the duration of the requested variance,

explaining the specific date or event which will terminate it: The requested partial, temporary variance will terminate once the onetime payment is sent to Nederland customers. (V)

A statement whether the variance, if granted, would be full or partial: As explained above the variance would be a temporary partial variance for the limited purpose of making a one-time payment outside the scope of the QSP Tariff terms.

(VI)

Any other information required by rule: None.

No harm will result from the granting of the requested waiver, nor will there be any prejudice to Public Service's customers. The granting of the Petition should not have any precedential effect and the payment will be made out of non-ratepayer funds. If this Petition is assigned for hearing, Public Service prefers the hearing be held in Denver, Colorado.

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A verification signed by Gary La key, Regional Vice-President Distribution Operations, who is authorized to act on behalf of Public Service, is attached hereto, stating that the contents of this Petition are true, accurate, and correct. Copies of all notices, orders, pleadings, etc., in this docket should be served upon Public Service's undersigned counsel and upon: Robin L. Kittel Xcel Energy Services Inc. 1800 Larimer Street, Suite 1400 Denver, CO 80202 Direct: 303-294-2242 [email protected]

Scott B. Brockett Xcel Energy Services Inc. 1800 Larimer Street, Suite 1400 Denver, CO 80202 Direct: 303-294-2164 scott. [email protected]

VII.

EXPEDITED APPROVAL IS JUSTIFIED

Expedited consideration by the Commission is appropriate here. The Commission's rule addressing Waivers and Variances, Rule 1003(a) provides the Commission the flexibility to act quickly: "In making its determination the Commission may take into account, but is not limited to, considerations of hardship, equity, or more effective implementation of overall policy on an individual basis." Given the unusually high number of Nederland outages, which occurred within a recent and compressed time frame, the Company believes a more timely response than the anticipated July, 2014

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$50 bill

credit payment is necessary. There is a need to quickly acknowledge the extraordinary nature and negative impact of this quantity of sustained outages on our Nederland customers."

2

Public Service will require approximately 45 days after Commission approval to process the bill credits contemplated by the Petition.

10

To facilitate the Commission's ability to waive response time to this Petition and to rule on the Petition as soon as practicable, the Company is including as part of this petition a motion to waive the Commission notice and intervention period found in paragraph (d) of Rule 1206. We also seek a waiver of response time to our Motion. If the Commission acts expeditiously and waives the notice and intervention period and response time to the Petition, that will not restrict the Commission's authority to take any further actions it deems relevant with regard to the Nederland outages.

VIII.

MOTION FOR A WAIVER OF NOTICE AND INTERVENTION PERIOD AND RESPONSE TIME

Pursuant to Rule of Practice and Procedure 1206(a), (b), and (d), when a petition is filed the Commission is required to provide a notice to any party that may be affected by the petition. Furthermore, unless the Commission orders otherwise, the notice is to be issued within 15 days of the filing of the petition, and must provide for a 30-day intervention period. Public Service is requesting a full waiver of the requirements of Rule 1206 for the above-captioned proceeding. Pursuant to Rule of Practice and Procedure 1003(b), the Commission has the authority to waive the notice and intervention period. The Company's motion for a full waiver of the Rule 1206 requirements is to implement a one-time payment to our Nederland customers. As more fully explained above, the Company has also requested expedited treatment of the Petition. For the same reasons provided in support of expedited consideration of the Petition, Public Service moves for a full waiver of the notice and intervention period and a waiver of response time to the motion.

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As explained in the Petition, Public Service believes no party will be prejudiced by the granting of the Motion for Waiver. Public Service is serving a copy of the Petition and the Motion on Trail Staff of the Commission and the Office of Consumer Counsel. WHEREFORE, Public Service Company of Colorado respectfully requests that the Commission issue an order: granting Public Service Company of Colorado's Motion for a waiver of the notice and intervention period and response time to the Petition; granting the partial, temporary variance from those

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of the Tariff that might restrict the

Company's ability to make a payment from shareholder funds to its Nederland customers for extraordinary sustained outages as described in the Petition; finding that no preference is being granted to Nederland customers; and finding that the additional payment is just and reasonable in these circumstances. DATED this 19th day of February, 2014.

Respectfully submitted,

By:

/s/ Victoria R. Mandell Victoria R. Mandell, #17900 Assistant General Counsel Xcel Energy Services Inc. 1800 Larimer Street, Suite 1100 Denver, Colorado 80202 Telephone: (303) 294-2268 Fax: (303) 294-2988 Email: [email protected]

ATTORNEY FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO

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BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

***** IN THE MATTER OF THE VERIFIED PETITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO FOR EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF A PARTIAL TEMPORARY VARIANCE FROM CERTAIN QUALITY OF SERVICE PLAN TERMS IN THE COLO PUC NO.7 ELECTRIC TARIFF FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO NEDERLAND CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING EXTRAORDINARY OUTAGES, AND MOTION FOR WAIVER OF INTERVENTION PERIOD AND RESPONSE TIME TO THE PETITION

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DOCKET NO. 14A-

E

VERIFICATION STATE OF COLORADO

)

CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER

)

) ss. I, Gary Lakey, being duly sworn, do hereby depose and state that I am the Regional Vice President of Distribution Operations for Public Service Company of Colorado, Applicant in the foregoing Application. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that all statements made in the Application are true, accurate and correct.

GaryLaey

Subscr

fore me this

If

i'.I

day of February 2014.

Notary Public

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE DOCKET NO. 14A-XXXE

I hereby certify that on this, the 19th day of February 2014, the foregoing “VERIFIED PETITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF COLORADO FOR EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF A PARTIAL TEMPORARY VARIANCE FROM CERTAIN QUALITY OF SERVICE PLAN TERMS IN THE COLO PUC NO. 7 ELECTRIC TARIFF FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO NEDERLAND CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING EXTRAORDINARY OUTAGES, AND MOTION FOR WAIVER OF INTERVENTION PERIOD AND RESPONSE TIME TO THE PETITION” was e-filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in accordance with applicable law upon:

Colorado PUC E-Filings System

Doug Dean, Director Colorado Public Utilities Commission 1560 Broadway, Suite 250 Denver, CO 80202 and a copy of the above-referenced will be served upon each of the persons appearing through the Colorado Public Utilities Commission e-filing system to registered users in accordance with applicable law.

/s/ Yrene A. Nuñez

* Indicates those persons who have signed confidential nondisclosure agreement # Indicates those persons who can receive highly confidential material

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Updated: 02/14/14 Docket No. 114A-XXXE