Xcel Energy 2012 Annual Report Download - page 5

of ways, including the reliability
of our system.
In 2012, we met rigorous reliability
goals, reducing the number of
minutes customers were without
electric service.
Ensuring reliable service for the
long-term is an issue across the
energy industry. Much like roads
and bridges, our nation’s utility
infrastructure is aging and needs
to be strengthened. Xcel Energy has
been addressing the challenge for
a number of years, building on our
operational excellence and focusing
on every part of our business.
Because we’ve been proactive,
we’ve been able to proceed at our
own pace, complete projects in the
most efficient and cost-effective way
possible and deliver them at a good
price for customers. Those efforts
also create jobs and contribute to
economic vitality. Most important,
our customers enjoy safer, more
reliable, cleaner electric and
natural gas service.
In Colorado, we are retiring older
coal-fired power plants, replacing
some of them with natural gas-fired
units and adding advanced emission
controls to others. This nationally
recognized effort, similar to one
already completed in Minnesota,
increases reliability and generating
capacity while greatly reducing
emissions and the risk of future
environmental regulations—all
at a competitive price.
In Texas, we are adding a fourth
unit to our Jones Generating Station
to meet growing electric demand
created by thriving energy and
agricultural industries. The unit should
be operational in May 2013. We also
are investing in our nuclear plants in
Minnesota, relicensing and upgrading
them for many more years of clean,
safe, reliable service.
On track to invest more than $1 billion
in 2013, we are making great strides
in ensuring our electric transmission
system is ready to serve customers’
growing and increasingly sophisticated
energy needs. Construction and
permitting efforts are under way in
every part of our service territory.
We also are taking advantage of new
technologies such as an aerial laser
measurement system to mitigate the
threat of wildfires and tree hazards
to transmission lines.
Work on the electric distribution
system also is proceeding well,
with plans to invest $2.7 billion
over the next five years. We
are focused on modernizing the
system, strengthening it and adding
automated controls that will increase
efficiency, prevent outages and
enhance our ability to restore
power when necessary.
In 2012, we completed a seven-year
effort to inspect and repair our natural
gas transmission pipelines. We chose
to be more aggressive in our approach
to enhancing pipeline integrity than
federal standards required because
of public safety implications.
Safety is another measure of
operational excellence, and we have
a robust public safety awareness
program that is focused on preventing
accidents with information and
outreach. We work with customers,
homeowners, at-risk workers such as
excavators and tree care specialists,
XCEL ENERGY 3ANNUAL REPORT 2012