When the power goes out in the Colorado town of Louisville, Marci Kalish says her mind starts running.

"Is it transformer fuses blowing? That could cause a spark, that could cause a fire. That's not safe. Is our power supply safe? You know why these power outages are happening so often?" she said.

Miles away, in almost all corners of the Denver metro area, residents in the Happy Canyon neighborhood in Denver, Applewood in Golden, or south in Sterling Ranch have the same question.

"I've lived here for five years. By far, this is the worst area that I've lived in my whole life. I've been an Xcel customer my whole life," one Sterling Ranch resident said at a community meeting on Monday.