AMARILLO, Texas (Feb. 17, 2026) — Xcel Energy enacted a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) for around 14,500 customers in Carson, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman and Swisher counties beginning around 9 a.m. CT due to critical wildfire danger. The region continues to experience high winds, with gusts reaching 65 miles per hour in some areas.

Preparing for Restoration

Xcel Energy expects to begin power restoration around 5 p.m. CT, once weather conditions fall below PSPS thresholds. Restoring power from a significant weather event or PSPS may take several hours to several days, as crews must inspect power lines and repair any damage before safely re-energizing them.

More than 400 Xcel Energy crew members and contractors are positioned across our Texas and New Mexico service territory, ready to restore power due to the PSPS as well as any other outages caused by high winds. There are also three helicopters in place to help speed up inspections. The company also has more than 140 administrative and support staff working behind the scenes during this event.

As crews begin restoring power, customers are reminded to give line workers ample space to perform their jobs safely and efficiently. Outages may occur outside PSPS areas due to the ongoing weather conditions. High winds and blowing dust may also affect restoration times and limit crew mobility.

Xcel Energy will continue to share updates as the situation develops on this dedicated PSPS Event Update page and provide the current status of outages via the Xcel Energy outage map.

Report Outages, Damage 

Customers can help speed restoration by reporting outages and damaged equipment. Anyone who sees a downed line or broken pole should stay far away and contact Xcel Energy immediately.

Customers have several ways to report outages:   

  • Via text by texting OUT to 98936 to report an outage, or text STAT to the same number to check the status of a power outage  

  • By calling 1-800-895-1999 and following the prompts—the automated phone reporting system lets customers report outages in less than 60 seconds.   

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About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider, dedicated to serving millions of customers with excellence. We make energy work better for customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar — delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient and sustainable energy.

We are committed to leading the clean energy transition, meeting our customers’ need for more, cleaner power, while keeping bills as low as possible. Because the people we serve depend on us to power their lives.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, we work every day to generate and distribute electricity and gas to customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on X and Facebook.