In March 2000, the National Academy of Engineering declared electrification to be the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century. According to Teresa Mogensen, senior vice president of energy supply for Xcel Energy, that is an accolade that energy sector leaders must earn every day.
“The task of our industry is to provide reliable, safe, low-cost energy to our millions of residential and business customers,” Mogensen said. “Our goal is to transform that energy into an instrument that produces a cleaner, healthier environment and a more satisfying way of life for our employees, customers and communities.”
Mogensen said she believes “clear vision, technology transformation and connection” lead to realizing that goal.
Speaking at the 22nd Annual ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, Mogensen also said she believes it is imperative for leaders to “own the future in order to make a real difference.”
During the summer of 2020, Xcel Energy took steps to own its future by repowering older wind farms serving its customers in the upper Midwest.
“This stems from some of our efforts to work with state leaders and regulators to spur the economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
These wind farm projects are expected to create hundreds of construction jobs by utilizing local and union labor and diverse suppliers, as well as to lower costs for customers while increasing the amount of carbon-free, renewable energy in the region.
“Our wind projects with updated technology can typically generate at least 10-percent more electricity annually,” Mogensen said.
Elaborating on technology transformation, Mogensen noted between May and July of this year, consumer spending on Amazon.com increased 60 percent over the same period last year, as the spread of COVID-19 forced many people to shop online.
“The experience people have on Amazon and other non-utility websites is setting the bar for their expectations on the utility sites,” Mogensen said. “We still have some distance to make up, but through Google Assistant and Alexa, customers can view and pay their bills, set due dates, obtain payment schedule information and can find ways to reduce their energy use.”
Mogensen touted Xcel Energy’s association with an investment firm called Energy Impact Partners, a collaboration of utilities and companies designed to help shape the energy landscape of the future.
“[The partnership] helps the company stay aware of opportunities for strategic investments, and it serves as our eyes and ears on innovations that can help us improve,” she said. “While the companies EIP invests in are not household names, and might never be, what they have in common is the focus on using technology to transform our business.”
The EV factor
Carbon emissions, Mogensen observed, have been decreasing with the advancement of renewable energy.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), greenhouse gases from transportation account for about 28 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions. Between 1990 and 2018, those transportation-related emissions increased more in absolute terms than in any other sector, Mogensen said.
As a response, Xcel Energy recently announced the company will power 1.5 million electric vehicles (EVs) in its service territory by 2030 as an element of the electric vehicle component to its carbon vision.
“That means 20 percent of all vehicles in the areas we serve will be replaced by electric vehicles, putting 30 times more EVs on the road than today,” Mogensen said, estimating this plan could help Xcel customers save $1 billion annually on fuel by 2030.
“Additionally, carbon emissions would be cut by nearly 5 million tons each year by 2030,” she said.
This EV imitative also includes building infrastructure for vehicle charging, creating pricing and products so customers can charge their vehicles easily and affordably, working with commercial customers to electrify their fleets, and building partnerships with customers, manufacturers and other stakeholders, “and, of course, electrifying our own fleet,” Mogensen said.
“We’re actively working with partners to increase EV access while developing plans that focus on equity and accessibility,” Mogensen concluded.
