Xcel Energy has announced the start of the rollout of smart electricity meters in its Wisconsin service territory.
The installations will start in the company’s southern communities and will lead to the installation of more than 260,000 of the new smart meters in the service area through 2025.
For Xcel Energy, the rollout marks the next step in the modernisation of its power grid, which so far has focussed primarily on boosting the capacity and reliability of the system through new and improved lines and substations.
With the smart meters, customers will be empowered to manage their energy use better while improving reliability and helping Xcel Energy restore power more quickly after an outage.
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“We’re excited to take this next step in building a smarter, more resilient and efficient energy grid and making it easier than ever for customers to understand and manage their energy use,” said Karl Hoesly, president, of Xcel Energy – Wisconsin.
“Smart meters are the starting point for this advanced grid, boosting reliability and providing new tools and technology to help customers lower costs.”
Smart meters will give customers near real-time energy use data with access through the company’s ‘My Account app’ or online.
They also will have access to programmes and services that will help them better understand their energy usage and how to improve efficiency and find more savings.
Currently, the majority of Xcel Energy’s old meters are AMR meters.
In addition to Wisconsin, Xcel Energy has smart meter rollouts underway in its service areas in Colorado, Minnesota and Texas.
The rollouts in North Dakota, South Dakota and New Mexico are tentatively scheduled to start in 2024 and in Michigan in 2025.
Xcel Energy serves approximately 3.7 million electricity and 2.1 million natural gas customers across the eight service territories.
