Xcel Energy 2015 Annual Report Download - page 9

XCEL ENERGY | Annual Report 2015 9
options in areas like renewable energy and home energy
management, and we delivered in 2015. Ranked in the top 5
nationally, Xcel Energy’s energy-efciency programs saved
customers enough electricity to power 115,000 homes and
enough natural gas to serve 17,000 homes.
For customers wanting more renewable energy options,
we are building on our Windsource® program with new solar
options in Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin. We continue
to improve our digital experience to increase customer
satisfaction and loyalty. We have also enhanced My Account,
along with proactive outage and billing notications that are
driving increased customer engagement.
Anticipating and exceeding customer expectations is critical
to our ongoing success, and we are putting our technology
expertise to work to do just that. Innovative pilot programs
like smart thermostats, connected home programs and a
unique partnership with Panasonic to test and deliver new
energy solutions are just some of the ways we are providing
customers with tools to manage their energy use and costs
while increasing comfort.
In 2015, 95 percent of our surveyed customers gave us
high marks for overall satisfaction, but we are not resting
on those laurels—we are working to enhance the overall
customer experience to increase customer satisfaction and
loyalty even more.
Invest for the future
The $15 billion of base capital investments we will make
during the next ve years will grow our rate base by
3.7 percent annually while strengthening the grid and
transitioning to a cleaner energy supply mix. The Right
Mix of investments includes power generation, the
electrical grid, pipelines and transmission and distribution
infrastructure to deliver gas and electricity to our customers.
We have identied an additional $2.5 billion of upside
investment opportunity that, if achieved, would drive rate
base growth of 5.5 percent.
Through a “steel for fuel” strategy, our investments create
both customer and shareholder value as we invest in wind
energy to offset fossil fuel costs. The purchases of the
Border Wind Farm in North Dakota and the Pleasant Valley
Wind Farm in Minnesota, coupled with construction of the
Courtenay Wind Farm in North Dakota, provide growing
opportunities to increase our wind generation ownership.
Transmission remains a growth opportunity for us. Our three
independent transmission companies made steady progress
in 2015, winning several key regulatory approvals, building
A WELL-LIT PATH TO EFFICIENCY
Our communities are interested in saving money and reducing their
environmental footprint, and our programs deliver. Case in point:
Xcel Energy recently launched a ve-year project to upgrade nearly
300,000 streetlights with new, energy-efcient LED xtures that
use 40 to 60 percent less energy than conventional lighting. Our
communities will not only see a decrease in their electric bills, they
will see fewer replacements, less required maintenance and higher
quality lighting.
We upgraded approximately 50 communities in Wisconsin in the fall
of 2015 and have plans to roll out the program across our service
territory, subject to regulatory approval.
Mary Jo Woolf (left), director, Distribution Customer Operations; Brian
Elwood (right), manager, Community Relations; and Tom Zeuil, director of
Public Works and Parks for the City of Hudson, Wisc., all played important
roles in the Hudson LED street lighting project.