Xcel Energy wants to educate the nation about its smart-grid project in Boulder.
The utility is part of the “Smart Grid Roadshow” that rolled into Denver on Monday. Last fall, it was held in Toronto. This fall, it will head to Baltimore.
The two-day event, which continues today at the Marriott City Center, features panel discussions, keynote addresses and technical papers on smart-grid technology.
It also includes a free mobile exhibit to demonstrate the components of Xcel’s $100 million smart-grid project.
“We are taking the mobile exhibit around the nation to educate people on what we are doing in Boulder,” said Xcel spokesman Tom Henley.
More than 75 companies, including utilities such as Duke Energy, Pacific Gas & Electric and Colorado Springs Utilities that too are experimenting with smart- grid technologies, are part of the roadshow.
Xcel’s project in Boulder will be the first fully integrated smart-grid project in the nation.
By summer, Boulderites will be able to figure out how much energy they are using or which appliances are drawing too much power.
Xcel can look into the grid to see whether there’s a power outage and fix a problem without waiting for customer complaints.
Such two-way communication between homes and the grid could drastically improve the way electricity is distributed, saving hundreds of millions of dollars by decreasing the need to build new power plants.
Gargi Chakrabarty: 303-954-2976 or gchakrabarty@denverpost.com
