SmartGridCity Death Reports Greatly Exaggerated, Says Xcel Spokesman

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Earlier this week Xcel Energy CEO David Eves was quoted in various media outlets – including this one ― saying Xcel has no plans to expand or duplicate SmartGridCity in other parts of its service area. But Xcel spokesman Tom Henley says that doesn’t mean the project is dead. “That isn’t even close to the truth,” he told us today, suggesting coverage of Eves’ remarks was incomplete. All along, Henley said, Xcel has said it would test some 60+ value propositions in its Boulder experiment, fully anticipating that some would work and some would not. Obviously it doesn’t make sense to duplicate ineffective technologies elsewhere, but Henley said the utility does plan to use “the best and brightest” in other parts of its territory.

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He also said the Boulder project is not over. In October Xcel hopes to have 2,000 volunteers participating in a test of three different pricing plans; one will be a time-of-use pilot, another is critical peak pricing with one day’s prior notice, the third a rebate program based on reduced usage during critical peak pricing periods. And he said Xcel still plans to test demand response and other scenarios with in-home devices as soon as they are satisfied the devices are security-enabled to the point of being impenetrable. The delay in getting those devices into customer homes has been “the biggest disappointment to date,” Henley said.

Quick take: Everything happening in Boulder is, intentional or not, educational for the industry ― from the wins and the setbacks to the consumer angst, PUC actions, the political maneuvering, you name it. And by year end Xcel expects to complete its analysis of the various value propositions it is testing, which will be all the more instructive.

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