SmartGridCity™

Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity™ is the nation's first fully integrated smart grid community and will boast the largest and densest concentration of the leading utility grid technologies to date - and it's right here in Colorado.

Boulder, Colorado was selected by Xcel Energy as the ideal SmartGridCity due to its size and access to all grid components. Additionally, Boulder is home to the University of Colorado and several federal institutions, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is involved in smart grid efforts for the federal government.

SmartGridCity features a number of infrastructure upgrades and customer offerings – including:

• Transformation of existing metering infrastructure to a robust, dynamic electric system communications network, providing real-time, high-speed, two-way communication throughout the distribution grid;
• Conversion of substations to “smart” substations capable of remote monitoring, near real-time data and optimized performance;
• At the customer’s invitation, installation of programmable in-home control devices and the necessary systems to fully automate home energy use; and
• Integration of infrastructure to support easily dispatched distributed generation technologies (such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid technology; battery systems; wind turbines; and solar panels).

The potential benefits of the Smart Grid City include operational savings, customer-choice energy management, better grid reliability, greater energy efficiency and conservation options, increased use of renewable energy sources, and support for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and intelligent-home appliances.

SmartGridCity is currently being implemented in Boulder. Beginning in 2009, Xcel Energy expects to begin an initial assessment of the technologies.

After initial implementation and assessment, Xcel Energy will use the results from this effort to talk with state, federal and regulatory officials about a larger deployment throughout the company’s eight-state service territory. For more information on smart grid technology and Xcel Energy’s project please visit the SmartGridCity website.