Xcel Energy 2001 Annual Report Download - page 11

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Xcel Energy also benefits from a balanced portfolio of energy sources, including
coal, nuclear, natural gas and renewable fuels such as hydro, wind and biomass.
A good balance minimizes the impact of changes in fuel supply or price. The
company generates about 73 percent of the electricity it delivers and purchases
the rest. Almost two-thirds of the purchases are contracts of five years or longer,
which again enables it to achieve supply and price stability for customers.
In addition to purchasing conventional sources of electricity, Xcel Energy buys
renewable energy. Last year, the company signed contracts for power from the
new Peetz Table wind power plant in Colorado and the Llano Estacado wind
ranch in Texas. Wind power conserves fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal,
but also saves water, which is especially important in Texas and Colorado. Wind
power also enables the company to give customers more options. ItsWind Source
program, for example, offers customers the opportunity to purchase wind power
for a slightly higher energy bill.
In other renewable energy efforts, Xcel Energy purchases hydroelectricity from
Manitoba Hydro in Canada, a resource that is competitively priced and reliable.
The contracts with Manitoba Hydro include seasonal diversity agreements that
allow an exchange of power between the companies’ respective systems.
Xcel Energy’s regulated business experienced solid customer growth in 2001
despite the downturn in the economy, adding more than 91,000 new natural
gas and electric customers.
The company also participated in a pilot program designed to determine the
feasibility of customer choice and electric deregulation in parts of Texas. Xcel
Energy far exceeded its goal in capturing a percentage of the commercial and
industrial electric market – outside of its regulated service territory – and will
participate even more aggressively as Texas moves ahead with deregulation. One
of the new customers is the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, with 30
facilities statewide that will receive electricity from Xcel Energy. The agency
selected Xcel Energy because it offered the best value, according to officials.
ONE OF XCEL ENERGY’S
STRENGTHS IS ITS VALUABLE ASSET
BASE, INCLUDING POWER PLANTS,
ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION AND
TRANSMISSION LINES AND NATURAL
GAS PIPELINES. IN 2001, OUR
CREWS OPERATED AND MAIN-
TAINED 16,303 MILES OF ELECTRIC
TRANSMISSION LINES, 73,098 MILES
OF ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION LINES
AND 29,074 MILES OF NATURAL
GAS PIPELINE.