A local lawyer is asking for a state commission to take action after an Xcel Energy utility pole fell onto a car in Hopkins, killing the driver, a 31-year-old father.
Joshua A. Newville of Minneapolis-based Halunen Law has sent a letter to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) asking them to review Xcel Energy’s utility pole inspection and maintenance practices following the deadly incident on Aug. 23 near the Second Street Station Apartments on Blake Road North.
According to Hopkins police, neighbors told them that the victim, Kenneth Green, had just pulled into the parking lot where he lived when the power pole fell onto his car and caught fire.
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Newville told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that he isn’t representing Green’s family and is just a concerned citizen.
His 18-page letter calls into question whether the pole’s fall reveals broader concerns with Xcel’s assessment program rather than chalking it up as an isolated equipment failure.
Included in the filing are Google Street View images of the pole as far back as 2019 and continuing through 2025. Newville is claiming that the images prove the pole was unsafe before the deadly incident since it appears to have been leaning long before it fell.
Google Images street view screenshots. Courtesy of Halunen Law.
Google Images street view screenshots. Courtesy of Halunen Law.
Google Images street view screenshots. Courtesy of Halunen Law.
Google Images street view screenshots. Courtesy of Halunen Law.
According to materials included with the filing, Xcel Energy has told the commission that it does inspections about every 12 years and uses visual inspections, sound-and-bore testing and excavation methods when evaluating poles. The filing also showed that Xcel Energy looked into its inspection program in 2020 and recommitted to the current cycle because of the age and condition of its pole system.
A spokesperson for Xcel Energy says a 2023 inspection indicated the pole was in compliance with safety standards and added they’re looking into why the pole failed.
In a letter back to Newville that was shared with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, PUC said it doesn’t “does not undertake independent investigations of individual utility poles,” nor is it in charge of enforcing police safety standards — national standards do that.
A PUC official did suggest that Newville submit a comment to the commission’s docket, but Newville noted that the current docket concerns last year’s annual reports and the Xcel report that will have to include the Hopkins fatality won’t be submitted until next year.
He believes more immediate action is warranted before another pole could fail.
In regards to the letter, a PUC spokesperson told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, “The Commission cannot comment on filings made in open dockets. Subject to change, the matter is tentatively set for February 4, 2027, and the Commission will consider all the evidence in the record at that time.”
A statement from an Xcel Energy spokesperson is below.
“We inspect all of our poles on a rotating schedule following industry best practices. The process involves a visual inspection as well as excavation around the base of the pole to perform a core test in the location where poles typically degrade the fastest. These measures help us assess the pole’s overall strength. We also apply a preservative treatment to the outside of the pole during inspections to prevent weathering and decay. This work is extensive, with 54,000 wood distribution poles in Minnesota inspected by our teams in 2023.
“Records from the 2023 inspection show that the full scope of testing was completed and the pole was found to be in compliance with all required safety standards. However, the returned result (93% remaining strength) does not explain why this pole would fail. Our investigation is looking for that explanation, but we have not yet determined why the pole failed.“