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Xcel $240M rate increase request

Administrator — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:58:39 +0000

Xcel Energy has requested another rate increase through the Public Utilities commission (PUC). The $240M hike includes $53M to cover carrying costs for excess capacity.
Black Hills Energy recently received $23M in rate increases to recoup costs associated with additional generation construction.
The story behind the capacity increase begins in 2004 when Xcel told Black Hills they would not extend the contract for 300 MW of generation. Xcel energy predicted they would need an additional 1000 MW of capacity by 2010 and could not spare any generation. Since then, the forecast has been cut to 292 MW. Meanwhile, Black Hills built two gas fired plants at the Pueblo Airport of 180 MW and 200 MW, costing them $227M and $260M. The PUC allowed the $23M hike to Black Hills to help recoup the total generation construction cost of $487M and additional transmission costs.
Now Xcel wants ratepayers to pay for the excess generation due to their planning miscalculation.
I received a notice of change of electric rates from Xcel Energy that states the request is for $141.9M. The interim request is $100M or about $2.70 per month for the average residential customer. The new charge will be included in the GRSA line of our bills.

Xcel pulls the plug on SolarRewards

Administrator — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:05:15 +0000

February 16th – a day to remember for all Xcel customers and the solar energy industry. Xcel Energy announced they have filed with the Public Utilities Commission to reduce the current rebates for new solar installations. The current residential rebate of $2.35 per watt (<10kw) includes a rebate of $2.00 and a REC (credit) of $.35. Their proposed total rebate is $1.25 which includes a rebate of $.25 and REC of $1.00. In the interim, before the PUC commission decides, Xcel set the REC at 1 cent and rebate at $2.00. However, Xcel froze all new applications, so the interim is moot.
What frustrates the solar industry most is the action of Xcel to abruptly stop the program when a plan was in place to reduce rebate payments gradually as the renewable energy standard goal was met. The REC component is scheduled to drop to zero as the total residential capacity reached about 100 MW. Renewable Energy Standard Adjustment (RESA) income from a 2% rider on Xcel customer billing provided the funds to continue the Solar Rebate program. We voted to continue supporting renewable energy.
This action will cause a storm before the PUC meeting in May, and most likely the rebates will be restored to some degree, but the damage to the solar industry has been done!

Black Hills Energy

Administrator — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:17:21 +0000

Black Hills Energy suspended its solar rebate program citing internal problems with the administration of the program. In the past Black Hills was criticized by the PUC for lacking specifics in their compliance reports.
I hope that Black Hills Energy somehow gets back on track with the essential solar program. I suggest some program management training for utility employees or have Black Hills Energy subcontract the work to an independent consultant.

SmartGrid update

Administrator — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:49:38 +0000

Xcel Energy applied for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) as suggested in my blog a few months ago. Xcel is attempting to recoup SmartGrid costs that are now about three times the original budget estimate (the original budget was $15.3M, and costs are estimated at $44.8M). A rate increase was requested in 2009. Approval of the CPCN is necessary to move on the rate increase for SmartGrid.
I think it is time to stop throwing good money after bad. Xcel has shown they cannot deliver on the promise of SmartGrid. Only 43% of the meters in Boulder are converted to the Landis and Gyr (L&G) Focus meter, and customers have found that real-time energy data is not readily available through the Xcel “My Account” website.
Xcel officials claim the extent of the costs could not be fully known before contruction began on the first large scale test of its kind! However, they could have asked or performed some due diligence.
Let’s hope the PUC catches on.

Smart Grid Update

Administrator — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:35:26 +0000

The Sunday Boulder Camera (Feb 21) published a pointed commentary by Anne Butterfield about Xcel’s Smart Grid City. I agree with Anne and the PUC that a certificate of public convenience and necessity is needed to convey to the public if there is some substance to all the SGC hype.
I attended two presentations by Xcel that provided much hype for a smart grid system, but delivered little insight into deliverables. Most of the presentation was pie in the sky talk about shaving peaks with electric vehicle battery storage, and controlling a customer’s thermostat. The only realistic near-term advantage of the SGC is that of monitoring voltage at the customer’s service and locating outages without relying on telephone messages from the customer. This is a huge advantage for Xcel – reduce truck rolls for outages or problems on the customer’s side of the meter.
I worked for Xcel for 8 years on their control and data acquisition systems (SCADA), and in planning department. I have a pretty good idea what is driving them. Xcel management realizes they can use this SGC hype to get money for capital investments for their needs, and worry about deliverables later. However, the “cutting edge technology” excuse for delay and cost overrun is getting thin.
I have 7 smart monitoring systems online and operating, compared to 8 for Xcel! My systems cost only a few thousand dollars instead of millions, but I don’t have the hype!

Xcel REC adjustment

Administrator — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:56:04 +0000

Xcel announced the REC portion of the renewable energy rebate has decreased from $1.50 to $.85 effective December 2, 2009.
The total rebate and REC from Xcel is now $2.85 per watt ($2.00 rebate and $0.85 REC). The reasons behind the decrease is the small (<10 kw) program has filled up, and prices for equipment (i.e. PV panels) has decreased significantly in the past few months.
This means that the total rebate and REC for a 10kw system decreases from $35,000 to $28,500.

Xcel offers rollover option for PV owners

Administrator — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:06:22 +0000

Xcel offers Rollover Credit for Excess Energy
The good news from Xcel’s meeting with COSEIA last week is the announcement of a rollover option for Solar electric customers. Customers can sign up for this plan in September, and roll over any excess energy generated by the end of the year (December 31) into 2010. This means instead of selling the excess to Xcel a the end of the year for about 4.8 cents/kwh, customers can use this excess energy in January and February when solar generation does not meet usage. Using energy at 9.7 cents per kwh instead of selling at 4.8 cents per kwh makes financial sense to customers keen on system payback.

Solar*Rewards Program update

Administrator — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:39:23 +0000

Xcel Energy has determined the Average Hourly Incremental Cost of Electricity for 2008 is 4.842¢ per kilowatt hour. This factor will be applied to excess energy generated by photovoltaic electric systems installed in the Solar*Rewards program. This factor is also sometimes called the “avoided cost” rate. The retail cost for electric energy is about 9.7 cents per kwh (summer) and 9.4 cents per kwh (winter). see www.sunnysidesolarcolorado.com and click on “electric energy rates”.

SmartGrid update

Administrator — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:19:16 +0000

Xcel Energy has installed most of the infrastructure for the SmartGrid system in Boulder, CO. The $100M proposed investment includes 15,000 two-way meters and a fiber optic link between SmartGrid homes and Xcel’s system control center. The new meters are manufactured by Landis and Gyr, a long-time provider of electric utility control and metering equipment. If you have this type of meter at your service entrance now, you are probably one of the new Boulder SmartGrid customers.
SmartGrid will save the utility call-outs when the problem can be located on the customer side of the meter. Presently, customers must call in to report a problem. The new meters will let operators know of an outage and where the problem may be.
SmartGrid can also reduce peak loading by integrating load shedding programs and using 2 way thermostats.
The system looks promising, however, many links are not identified or resolved. Energy sensors and control points do not exist in most homes and will need to be installed by companies like Sunnyside Solar, that specialize in energy monitoring systems. Also, owners of rental property are not able to monitor the meter of a tenant for security reasons. However, Sunnyside Solar systems can be monitored by property owners and managers with an internet-based monitoring system. Password security is provided.

Windsource Windfall

Administrator — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:52:10 +0000

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) recently reported an excess of $1.6 million in Xcel’s WindSource coffers. Xcel apparently sold more wind energy than it generated. Caught with the hand in the cookie jar, Xcel has proposed a settlement of $2.6M to WindSource customers. Xcel proposes to refund the excess to the 47,000 WindSource customers in 2009. They estimate that will reduce the average WindSource customer’s extra cost of $35/month to $23/month in 2009. Xcel also plans to increase the WindSource portfolio with the remaining $1M. This information was recently published in the Daily Camera and Denver Post. Settlement results have not been posted.