Image: Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy is planning to install around 100,000 smart meters in each of its North and South Dakota service areas.
The rollout marks the next phase in Xcel Energy’s company-wide smart meter rollout, which is well underway in its service areas in Colorado, Minnesota and Texas and most recently started in Wisconsin, as part of its grid modernisation programme.
The new rollouts have kicked off in Fargo and West Fargo in North Dakota and Sioux Falls in South Dakota.
The full rollout of the approximately 100,000 smart meters in each state is expected to run well into 2025.
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With the smart meters customers will be able to access real-time consumption data online or via the company app.
“This is a tool we can put in the customers’ hands that they can utilise to save some money on their bills,” Eric Pauli, Xcel Energy Community Relations Manager, told a local news channel.
“It’s [also] going to help us isolate various areas when storms come through and be able to get customers back on quickly.”
Xcel Energy launched its Wisconsin smart meter rollout in September 2023.
The rollouts in the service territories in two other states are still to start – in New Mexico tentatively scheduled for 2024 and in Michigan in 2025.
The installations are being carried out by Olameter.
Under a 2019 agreement, Xcel Energy is deploying Itron’s edge intelligence-enabled smart meters across its service territories. The agreement also included a distribution automation solution to improve visibility and management of its grid.
