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SYSTEM HARDENING JUST ONE PART OF AN EFFORT TO MINIMIZE RISKS

WILDFIRE MITIGATION

CONTENTS4CHEYENNE RIDGE TEAM New wind facility on its way thanks to some quick work by an Innovator Award-winning internal team.

6NEW MEXICO’S LARGESTGround was recently broken on the Sagamore Wind Facility, which will be New Mexico’s largest such installation.

8LAKE BENTON Old becomes new as the company refurbishes a Minnesota wind farm, with more to follow.

14DEL NORTE RELIGHTCrews jumped on an outage in a small Colorado community, restoring gas service before a storm moved into the area.

16MANKATO ENERGY CENTERXcel Energy has completed its purchase of the Mankato Energy Center in Mankato, Minnesota.

18PEOPLEThe most recent Friends We’ll Miss and Retirements.

ON THE COVERIn 2019, more than 2,800 wood transmission poles at Xcel Energy were intrusively inspected, as well as more than 66,000 wood distribution poles. More than 2,300 distribution poles were then replaced under the company’s wildfire mitigation program, and that work continues. For more information, please see page 10.

(Editor’s Note: Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO, regularly shares his thoughts in this column for Xtra.)

Happy New Year!

As the calendar turned to 2020, suddenly our interim goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2030 doesn’t seem so far away.

Collectively, we still have lots of work to advance our clean energy goals. This includes taking care of employees and communities impacted by the continued transition away from coal, incorporating more renewable energy onto our evolving advanced grid, and closely studying and supporting emerging technologies that will help us meet our longer-term goal of producing 100% carbon-free energy by 2050.

At the end of 2019, we had reduced carbon emissions approximately 40% from 2005 levels. And although there is much work ahead, looking in the rear-view mirror can provide encouragement for the future. We’ve proven that we’ve done it before and can do it again.

By most major measurements, the just-concluded 2010s was a very successful decade for Xcel Energy. First and foremost, we made significant progress in our employee safety program – working safe is a value that all employees live each day.

Of course, we’ve made operational and environmental progress, as well.

When the decade started, we had only reduced carbon emissions 10% compared to 2005 levels. And the CapX2020 project to modernize the transmission system in the Upper Midwest, for example, was still an idea on a drawing board.

Going forward, we know more transmission capacity is needed, and we’ve already proven we can gather a consortium of utilities together to build it. That’s why it makes sense to “get the band

back together” and reconvene our energy partners through CapX2050 to explore potential upgrades to bring additional renewable energy in the wind belt to our customers.

Building large infrastructure projects, like transmission lines and wind farms, requires capital. Fortunately, thanks to our track record of strong financial performance, generating capital has not been a challenge for this organization.

The tripling of our stock price and corresponding 243% growth in market capitalization during the 2010s reinforce the fact that shareholders like our strategic direction and ability to execute dependable earnings and dividend growth.

Developing the capability to build and own our wind farms – the core of our Steel for Fuel strategy – has paid significant dividends through earning a solid return on those investments. Prior to Steel for Fuel, all the wind on our system came through purchase power agreements (PPAs) with third-party providers. In fact, at the start of 2010, we owned 124 megawatts of wind energy; that has grown to more than 2,100 megawatts today.

Now we’re taking our Steel for Fuel strategy to the next level – I like to call it Steel for Fuel 2.0 – by purchasing older wind farms and re-powering them with the latest technology that deliver value for our customers and investment opportunities for our shareholders.

We recently executed our first PPA buyout and have three more in the works. The good news is there are numerous additional opportunities in this upcoming decade as more and more PPA contracts begin to expire each year.

Thanks to your hard work, we are well positioned to continue to lead the clean energy transition. Because of our success in the 2010s, I’m confident that the 2020s will be another great decade for Xcel Energy. X

A DECADE OF GROWTH

CEO MESSAGE

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INNOVATION AT CHEYENNE RIDGE

(Editor’s Note: Innovator and I Deliver awards at Xcel Energy reward performance when employees deliver exceptional results that move the company toward its goals and align with its values. Xtra is running a series of articles on select winners.)

We all know how fast a month can fly by. How about having to complete the many moving parts of putting together a $700 million construction project in about four weeks?

Well, it recently happened at Xcel Energy, and the construction of the company-owned Cheyenne Ridge wind facility is now underway – set for completion by the end of 2020.

As part of the Colorado Energy Plan (CEP), Xcel Energy was granted ownership of the proposed 500-megawatt wind facility under a build-own-transfer arrangement, which would have the company eventually owning the new wind farm.

But not actually building it.

Immediately following approval, however, employees ran into difficulties that required quick action to save the project. Ultimately, an internal cross-functional team worked to change the build-own-transfer agreement to a self-build project within that aggressive four-week timeframe.

The team also obtained commission approval prior to a crucial deadline. The effort supported customer savings in the Colorado Energy Plan estimated at $215 million and earned the team a coveted Innovator Award.

If the team had not been successful, Xcel Energy would have lost out on the $700 million investment opportunity in the wind farm.

“Late in the game, the developer couldn’t complete the project,” said Jack Ihle, director of Regulatory and Strategic Analysis. “We then quickly had to build a self-build route to finish the effort.”

That included finalizing a route for 70 miles of a new transmission line to deliver power from the facility, the acquisition of turbines and other equipment, the creation of a significant regulatory filing to gain approval for the effort, and the bidding out and completion of an extensive contract with a construction company to build the project. (Reminder: Four weeks.)

“One big challenge was ensuring we could be cost competitive with the other options included in the Colorado Energy Plan portfolio,” Ihle said. “We needed to hit a certain price point.”

Thankfully, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission also acted quickly.

“They fully understood that the project needed to be expedited so it could be online by the end of 2020 to fully

recoup production tax credits,” he said. “And that completed our quick transition from an independent wind developer to Xcel Energy itself building the project – ensuring we would hold onto the largest-owned piece of the CEP.”

As a small head start, the company already owned 27 safe-harbor wind turbines, which had been purchased in 2016, said Jerry Kelly, project manager for Cheyenne Ridge. Under IRS guidelines, companies can pre-purchase turbines to help secure production tax credits. Of course, that still left more than 200 turbines to secure, he said, so negotiations began with Vestas for a contract on the remaining turbines.

As well, a request for proposal was quickly put together and bids solicited, then evaluated and eventual a winner awarded the huge “balance of plant” contract, said Randy Larson, director of Regional Capital Projects in Energy Supply. For comparison, the contract to build the similarly sized Rush Creek wind facility took six months.

“All of this work gave us the ability to work to finish Cheyenne Ridge by the end of 2020, so we could fully utilize the production tax credits,” Larson said. “It also allowed us to proceed with a normal construction timeframe. Everything would have been at serious risk if we had not finished it in a month.”

In terms of the needed transmission line, Siting and Land Rights had to immediately pick up the land rights and permitting work from the former developer, said John Lupo, senior manager in the group. Thankfully, 75% had been completed by then, but the more recalcitrant landowners remained.

The group also needed to obtain land-use permits from two counties, as well as amend each one of the more than 180 landowner leases, changing them from a power-purchase structure to utility ownership. Another challenge involved securing busy transmission construction crews, which required premium pricing due to their high demand in the West.

“It was a really fast burn,” Lupo said. “The level of intensity cranked up for the development team.”

The transmission line will serve as a long extension cord, plugging into a substation at Rush Creek, before 1,100 megawatts of wind power eventually moves on its way to Missile Site Substation and then onto the grid.

At the Cheyenne Ridge site itself, all roads are now in, all the foundations poured, half of the turbine parts delivered, and more than 60 turbines already topped out – all thanks to the initial four weeks of intense hard work that made the project possible. X

TEAM WINS AWARD FOR FOUR WEEKS OF FURIOUS WORK

FEBRUARY15, 2020 5

INNOVATION AT CHEYENNE RIDGE

Construction scenes at Cheyenne Ridge

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TOPS IN NEW MEXICOCOMPANY BEGINS WORK ON STATE’S LARGEST WIND PROJECT

New Mexico leaders recently joined Xcel Energy officials to break ground on what will be the state’s single largest wind-energy facility – the 522-megawatt Sagamore Wind Project, located not far from the city of Portales, near the Texas-New Mexico border. The ceremony took place at the project’s construction laydown yard.

When operational later this year, the wind-energy facility will boost the area’s power supply with clean, affordable renewable energy and reduce fuel costs for Xcel Energy customers in both New Mexico and Texas. Sagamore is expected to generate an estimated $131 million in state and local benefits over the life of the project.

Xcel Energy will invest close to $900 million to erect 240 Vestas turbines on the site. A new 14-mile, 345-kilovolt transmission line also will be built to transport the renewable generation to

the electric grid and ultimately to customers.

“This is a historic investment for Roosevelt County, but its benefits reach far beyond,” said David Hudson, president, Xcel Energy–Texas and New Mexico. “For the next 25 years, Xcel Energy customers in both New Mexico and Texas will benefit from lower fuel costs, since our fuel source is the free and abundant wind of eastern New Mexico.

“And we’ll see a significant economic boost to the New Mexico economy through increased jobs, royalty payments to landowners, and more revenue for county and school budgets,” Hudson added.

“When you’re talking about a capital investment of almost a billion dollars, public economics come into play,” said Mark Roper, director of the New Mexico Economic Development Division, who also attended the event.

“It’s going to benefit New Mexico, it’s going to benefit the Dora school district, and it’s going to benefit Roosevelt county, as well as the entire state of New Mexico.”

The fact that there will be no fuel costs associated with the operation of Sagamore – coupled with savings generated from the federal production tax credit – will make Sagamore one of the lowest-cost power plants on Xcel Energy’s regional system, Hudson said.

Additionally, Sagamore will not use water in the production of its emissions-free electricity. Most area power generating facilities require groundwater to cool their steam cycles – supplies of which are becoming increasingly difficult to procure on the semi-arid plains of eastern New Mexico and West Texas.

Wanzek Construction will build out the site, and many New Mexico companies

FEBRUARY15, 2020 7

SAGAMORE GROUNDBREAKING At a recent groundbreaking ceremony, David Hudson (speaking at left) addresses the gathering at the Sagamore project site. At top left, Bryant Coon, senior agent with Siting and Land Rights, visits with the media after the event. And above, the actual breaking of ground for New Mexico’s largest wind facility.

also will play leading roles both during the construction process and years afterward.

“We are utilizing the skills of 400 highly trained construction workers to complete this important project and are confident in their abilities to do it on time and on budget,” said Kim Randolph, vice president of Energy Supply. “Crews began the construction of access roads in November and began building the 240 turbine foundations in January.”

Xcel Energy expects 20 to 30 full-time, permanent positions will be created to support the operation and maintenance of the wind-energy plant once it is completed and online. The Sagamore site entails more than 100,000 acres total, and approximately 98% of the land will remain in agricultural use.

Chicago-based Invenergy initially developed Sagamore before entering into an agreement with Xcel Energy

in 2017, calling for Xcel Energy to acquire the project and erect the turbines. Sagamore is the largest and final component of a 1,230-megawatt expansion of wind energy on Xcel Energy’s New Mexico- Texas system.

The 478-megawatt Hale Wind Project near Plainview, Texas, was completed in June, on time and $60 million under budget. The Hale facility already has led to fuel-cost reductions for Texas and New Mexico customers by displacing higher cost fossil-fuel generation and earning production tax credits that have been passed along to customers, Hudson said.

As part of the wind energy expansion that brought about Hale and Sagamore, Xcel Energy also began purchasing 230 megawatts of wind energy from two wind farms in the region owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources.

Xcel Energy has been purchasing wind energy for customers in New Mexico and Texas for almost 20 years, but before Hale and Sagamore, had never directly built or owned wind farms in the region. The decision to build Sagamore and Hale was based on favorable economic and environmental benefits.

Xcel Energy has committed to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and aspires to provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. In 2019, the state of New Mexico adopted the Energy Transition Act that mandates a 100% carbon-free electricity future by 2045.

With the addition of Hale and Sagamore, Xcel Energy expects nearly half of its New Mexico and Texas electricity supply to be derived from carbon-free renewable electricity – primarily wind energy – by 2023. X

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OLD TO NEWEFFORT GIVES NEW LIFE TO AN OLDER WIND FARM

Xcel Energy now owns the Lake Benton II wind-energy facility in southwest Minnesota. The project, originally built in 1999, has been updated with new technology that will increase the amount of carbon-free renewable energy the project will deliver to Upper Midwest customers.

The project is just one of several that will give new life to older wind farms – increasing their efficiency and locking in the benefits of low-cost wind for customers for decades to come, said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy–Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Two other wind projects in southwest Minnesota – Jeffers and Community Wind North – also will soon be rebuilt with new technology and combined into the new Longroad wind facility, which recently received Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approval.

Xcel Energy also has requested approval to rebuild the Mower project in southeast Minnesota. All of these projects will be constructed in late 2020, with the removal and replacement of the original turbines.

“Rebuilding original wind projects is key to our long-term strategy of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2030, while keeping bills low for our customers,” Clark said. “Projects like these will give the wind industry new opportunities to deliver low-cost, carbon-free electricity for our customers.”

The Lake Benton wind center, located in Pipestone County, has been owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources for the last 20 years. The company then led the recent rebuilding of the project to Lake Benton II. NextEra Energy Resources is the largest wind generator in North America.

“Wind projects like Lake Benton II are a great example of innovation – leveraging the latest technology to produce energy at lower wind speeds than 20 years ago, when the projects were originally built,” said John Di Donato, vice president of Development for NextEra Energy Resources. “This approach extends the benefits of renewable energy over a longer period, including payments to landowners, and additional jobs and tax revenue to the local community, as well as more clean, cost-effective energy for customers throughout the region.”

The project will provide 100 megawatts of renewable energy for the Upper Midwest. While it provides the same output as the original wind farm, it produces the energy using fewer wind turbines with greater efficiency – reducing the project’s footprint and maximizing the amount of energy generated at the site.

The project features 44 GE wind turbines, which were constructed throughout 2019 by Blattner Energy, based in Avon, Minn. More than 200 workers built the Lake Benton project, which now hosts about 10 full-time workers for operations and maintenance activities.

Local governments and landowners will benefit from the project, which will provide about $15 million in property tax payments and $15 million in payments to landowners over the next 20 years. The project also is compatible with existing land use, more than 99% of which continues to be used for agricultural production.

With rebuild projects like these, Xcel Energy is taking its Steel for Fuel strategy to the next level by purchasing older wind farms and repowering them with the latest technology. (For more information, please see Ben Fowke’s column on page three.) X

A photo of some of the original equipment at Lake Benton

FEBRUARY15, 2020 9

NEW TRANSMISSION LINE COMING TO NORTHERN WISCONSIN The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin recently approved a proposal for a new 19-mile transmission line in northern Wisconsin. Xcel Energy submitted an application in mid-2019 for the Bayfield Second Circuit Transmission Project, which includes a new 34.5-kilovolt transmission line and two new substations.

With feedback from landowners in the area, Xcel Energy identified two potential route alternatives for the project, and then held public open houses and feedback sessions for further discussion.

The commission selected the east route, which uses the existing transmission line corridor and requires construction of a temporary bypass line in a separate corridor during construction of the new line. The bypass line will be done in two phases and constructed as close to the roads as possible to minimize the amount of tree clearing that would be necessary.

The project will increase electric reliability for the area by adding another source of power to the Bayfield Peninsula. Communities on the east side of the Peninsula are now served by a single 34.5-kilovolt line that was built in the 1960s and 70s. Any failure on the line south of Bayfield or Washburn results in power outages to those communities, as there is not a backup transmission line in the area.

“This project is the result of a lot of effort and input from the Xcel Energy project team, as well as very dedicated community stakeholders,” said Ellen Heine, senior siting and permitting agent. “Everyone worked hard to develop a route that addressed the project needs, as well as the concerns of the communities.”

Construction of the new substations will begin in 2020, with work on the transmission line planned for 2021.

ONLINE XTRA SUBSCRIPTION AVAILABLE FOR EMPLOYEES AND RETIREESEmployee readers of Xtra can opt out of receiving the print version of Xcel Energy’s employee and retiree publication, and instead read the online version on XpressNet or via a portal on the company’s website at xcelenergy.com.

To complete the opt-out process, employees need to fill out a form on the Xtra homepage of XpressNet, providing their name, employee ID and company email address. Those who choose to opt out will receive an email when a new issue is available for online viewing.

The opt-out form and online versions of Xtra can be found by clicking on the “Xtra Online” link, located at the bottom of the XpressNet homepage. The online edition of Xtra also can be found at xcelenergy.com/Xtra – or from the home page, look under Community/Community Involvement/Retiree Directory.

In addition, retirees can opt out of receiving the print version, or request address changes regarding home delivery of the print edition, by calling the Human Resources Service Center at 800.689.7662. They also are invited to visit the webpage noted above (or xcelenergy.com/Retirees) to view the latest issue, as well as a number of back issues of Xtra.

In addition, and as a reminder, Xcel Energy’s main phone number is 800.328.8226. Just hit “0” for an operator to contact various departments and employees.

FOUR MEN IN A BOAT Brian Sewick, overhead line crew foreman out of the Newport Service Center, captured this image during restoration work after a spring storm in Hastings, Minnesota. The location had been flooded by spring run-off from the Mississippi River. “The tap we were working on had a tree fall on the line that took out the fuse,” he said. “At the moment the photo was taken, we were getting ready to install a new fuse and re-energize the line.”

Editor’s Note: “Photo Op” is a standing feature in Xtra. Each issue, a photo submitted by a reader or produced by a member of Corporate Communications will be published. Please sub-mit high-resolution digital photos to the editor at the email address listed on the back page of this publication. By submitting images for “Photo Op,” employees give Xtra permission to run the photos.

NEWS BRIEF PHOTO OP

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FEBRUARY15, 2020 11

RISK REDUCTIONWORK ON WILDFIRE MITIGATION UNDERWAY AT MANY LEVELS

The perils California and its utilities have faced due to wildfires now have other parts of the world taking notice and working to get ahead of the curve – Xcel Energy included.

Wildfire destroys lives, property and, of course, forests. It also can destroy electric infrastructure, potentially wreaking havoc on reliability and the overall stability of the grid.

Unfortunately, and although infrequently, utility equipment itself can ignite wildfires. To that end, the work to prevent that from happening has begun in earnest at the company.

“We recognize that wildfires pose a significant threat to our customers, communities and our land – and we are proactively taking steps to minimize ignition risks associated with operating our system,” said Sandra Johnson, project director. “The wildfire mitigation team is working diligently to ensure that the risks of equipment-caused ignitions are reduced.”

The company first launched its wildfire mitigation program in 2018, led by Betsy Coppock, principal engineer in Electric System Performance. She formed and led the initial cross-functional team to identify and quantify risks, as well as develop a plan to reduce that risk.

The team now has dedicated resources, and team members include engineers and operations personnel from gas and electric transmission and distribution, as well as vegetation management, sourcing, risk management, meteorology, community relations and others.

One of the first items completed involved the identification of assets in the company-determined Wildfire Risk Zones, she said. Then, the assets in those zones were evaluated for risk of ignition, and the resulting consequences considered. For instance, if a pole failed in Summit County, causing an ignition, what would be the mean number of acres burned?

12 XTRA

The Wildfire Mitigation team’s work now covers many facets, including:

• Accelerating inspections of assets, as well as conducting new and enhanced inspections on equipment to determine potential points of failures.

• Replacing equipment and poles that pose an increased risk, along with replacing equipment with new technology.

• Analyzing the strength and ability of both transmission and distribution structures to withstand higher than normal windspeeds.

• Conducting enhanced vegetation management in the areas around company assets.

• And working with EPRI, EEI and the U.S. government’s national labs to evaluate emerging engineering solutions that may improve detection, provide additional situational awareness and enhance grid resiliency.

“The team is actively meeting with the community to share our plan and will be holding ongoing stakeholder meetings to advance and improve our plan,” Johnson said. “The effort includes continual benchmarking with not only the California utilities, but also with our neighboring Colorado utilities, to share lessons learned and best practices.”

The scope of the work is impressive, and although limited to Colorado at this point, similar work will be expanded across the service territory as needed. In 2019 alone, more than 2,900 miles of transmission line in Colorado were inspected via ground and aerial patrol, along with infrared inspection of all lines. Plus, 1,500 miles of transmission gas pipeline were inspected via aerial survey.

Beyond that, more than 2,800 wood transmission poles were intrusively inspected, as well as a whopping 66,680 wood distribution poles. More than 2,300 distribution poles were then replaced, and that work continues.

“We are on the leading edge of the issue, with aggressive inspection and system-hardening programs to minimize risks of ignitions,” she said. “We want to have eyes on every asset.”

Thankfully, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission recognizes the risks of wildfires and is working with the company on related costs. For the first time, a wildfire mitigation plan was part of a rate case filing last year.

On the implementation side of the wildfire mitigation effort is project manager Steve Wathen. He and Johnson oversee three main bodies of work – system hardening, operational and situational awareness, and community and stakeholder outreach.

System hardening, as discussed earlier, aims at strengthening assets to prevent them from causing ignitions. Risk modeling determines methods of failure, he said, then the repair and replace programs prevent and fix defects to mitigate risks.

Community and stakeholder outreach involves communicating with various groups, educating them on the work being done for wildfire mitigation, answering questions about the plan and receiving feedback on what’s important to them, Wathen said.

“We’re working with a lot of high fire threat communities in the wildland-urban interface – in mountain and forested areas,” Wathen said. “The team attends community meetings and works with county governments to describe what the program activities entail and explain why they are seeing additional Xcel Energy crews working in the area.

“First responders and fire chiefs are, of course, well aware of wildfire risks,” he added. “And so we consider them key stakeholders, solicit their feedback and share knowledge.”

Internally, as well, the team is working with Standards to determine if changes are needed for specific wildfire work at the company. It also is working with employees and contractors on situational and operational awareness, informing them of new wildfire-related safe work practices.

Those practices are particularly crucial on “Red Flag Warning” days with high-wind conditions. They include specific work-related tasks, as well as more common-sense measures such as smoking habits and vehicle parking.

“Operational and situational awareness is about getting to a better understanding of threat conditions, and then implementing appropriate actions to deal with those conditions,” Wathen said.

In this evolving effort, operational changes and new technology will play a key role. One change being instituted now involves additional recloser settings on both the distribution and transmission systems for high fire threat days.

Reclosers, under normal circumstances, attempt to keep power flowing through a line after a fault is detected, trying to reenergize the system. Under Red Flag Conditions, however, those attempts to reclose should not happen, in case a line has fallen to the ground.

In fact, the company is installing additional reclosers with remote communication capability, which will allow settings to be changed remotely if weather conditions warrant.

“These changes and many more lie ahead as we finetune our plan, because wildfire mitigation addresses one of the top risks for the company,” Johnson said. “In providing power to our customers, that power needs to be safe, as well as reliable and affordable – and the threats proposed by wildfire can negatively impact customers, the community and the company.

“With that in mind,” she added, “our plan will continue to evolve as we evaluate new technologies, gain more industry and stakeholder input and support, and complete more inspections and studies to inform our program.” X

SYSTEM HARDENING Work on wildfire mitigation is hap-pening in many areas of Colorado. On pages 10 and 11, crews work to install a new line after a wildfire in the foothills above Boulder, which occurred a number of years ago.

FEBRUARY15, 2020 13

14 XTRA

After a regulator malfunction took out natural gas service to the small Colorado town of Del Norte, a small army of company and support crews worked quickly to restore service – just as a winter storm prepared to slam the area.

An initial low reading at a nearby regulator station prompted concern, said Kevin Johnson, manager of District Gas Operations out of Pueblo, Colorado. A regulator station drops gas pressure from the high-pressure system – at 500 pounds per square inch – down to 60 pounds to serve a certain area of the distribution system.

This specific area encompassed nearly all of the town’s gas meters, totaling more than 800 homes and businesses. The decision soon was made to shut down that portion of the system early on Saturday morning, Dec. 14, then make repairs and restore service, he said.

Initially, Johnson divided the town into eight zones, and then one employee and an accompanying team began shutting off each meter in their zone. Animal control and the police department were needed to access several of the meters.

The shut-down work, however, led to a heating issue for both

the town’s nursing home and its jail. People were getting cold. As a solution, trucks with compressed natural gas were called in and used to provide gas to both facilities.

“That enabled us to keep them going and warm while we got the system back up and running,” he said.

Once gas was reintroduced into the system, the arduous work of relighting appliances at each premise began. About 75 Xcel Energy employees from Denver, Pueblo, Sterling, Fort Collins, Grand Junction and the San Luis Valley (where Del Norte is located) jumped on the work, along with help from about 50 contractors and workers from other gas companies.

The relighting plan took on a commercial focus initially, so the town’s residents could access food and other needs from local businesses, Johnson said. The jail and nursing home also were prioritized at first. Crews then moved on to residences.

“It worked out well to have zones and keep organized, with one local employee leading the way in each zone,” Johnson said. “It was going to be near zero that night, and we didn’t want water freezing in houses.”

To that end, the crews had a locksmith and the police

CREWS QUICKLY RESTORE SERVICE AS STORM BEARS DOWN

DEL NORTE RESCUE

FEBRUARY15, 2020 15

standing by in case any relights required a forced entry. In the end, only six houses needed that kind of attention, he said.

As a precaution, the company even purchased about 1,000 space heaters – just in case. Thankfully, they weren’t needed, but are now staged around the state in case they are ever needed in the future.

Ashley Valdez, area manager for Pueblo and the San Luis Valley with Community Relations and Local Government Affairs, also played a major role in the relight effort. She helped coordinate efforts with the area’s emergency management group, including organizations like the Rio Grande County Emergency Response Team.

After receiving word of the issue at 5:30 a.m. that day, Valdez immediately reached out to Del Norte’s local authorities.

“I knew it would take a while to resolve everything,” she said. “And I wanted to coordinate with them so Gas Operations could get on with their work.”

As internal calls would take place at Xcel Energy, with ongoing plans and reports, she would then relay that information on the local authorities. And over the time needed to complete the effort, there were a series of calls, with Valdez working back and forth between the two groups.

“I would sit in for one internal call, then set up a call with external groups, then circle back to internal and do it all over again,” she said. “In that way, the community was aware of what we were doing – and they needed to know with an incoming snowstorm and cold snap on the way.”

Some local groups set up warming spots and community meals with crockpots while the relighting took place. The high school was relit right away, for instance, and served as a major warming station.

Valdez gave her last report to local authorities at 10:30 p.m. that night, with a vast majority of town back online before the clock struck midnight on the same day the event began.

“Everyone was beyond thrilled with our response with all of the crews to get the town back up and running as soon as possible,” she said. “It all turned out really well, as everyone divided and conquered the work at hand and ended up doing an outstanding job.

“It was a well-oiled machine, and based on feedback from all sides, everyone worked well and in concert as one team,” she added. “The community stayed calm – and knew that we had them in mind and would take care of them.” X

RESTORATION WORK After dividing the town into eight zones, work proceeded quickly to get the town of Del Norte back up and running. On page 14, Kevin Johnson (right), manager of District Gas Operations, works on the game plan to get the town back in service. (Photos by John McEvoy, special to The Colorado Sun)

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MANKATO PURCHASE COMPLETE

Xcel Energy has completed its purchase of the Mankato Energy Center (MEC) in Mankato, Minnesota, from Southern Power, an affiliate of Atlanta-based Southern Company.

Xcel Energy has had a purchase-power agreement (PPA) to buy generation from the plant’s combined-cycle, natural gas-powered unit since 2006. That agreement expires in 2026 and will save more than $100 million over the life of the PPA.

A second combustion turbine was added at to the plant in July 2019, with a PPA that expires in 2039. The two units bring MEC’s total capacity to 760 megawatts. The Energy Center was originally built by Calpine Corporation and sold to Southern Power in 2016.

“Securing the Mankato gas plant is a great value for our customers, as it will provide significant cost savings and operating flexibility for the long term,” said Teresa Mogensen, senior vice president of Energy Supply. “As we continue to transition to cleaner energy sources and reduce our reliance on

coal, this plant will help us continue to deliver reliable electricity while keeping bills low.”

When the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission declined to approve Xcel Energy’s request to purchase MEC as a regulated site in September 2019, the company developed a plan to create a non-regulated affiliate of Xcel Energy to purchase it from Southern Power for $650 million. The non-regulated status means shareholders will shoulder risks rather than customers.

Under two pre-existing agreements, the Mankato plant is and will remain under the control of Northern States Power–Minnesota dispatch, which also will approve the plant’s outage schedules.

Workers at the plant are employed by MEC Holdings and not by Xcel Energy or Northern States Power. Those employees will operate the plant according to instructions from Xcel Energy’s Commercial Operations business area.

Xcel Energy is planning for several power plant retirements and contract expirations in the mid-2020s. Acquiring this plant now provides certainty that energy from these newer generating units will be available and benefit customers over the life of the plant, she said, compared to simply purchasing the output.

These benefits include more flexibility as Xcel Energy continues to add renewable energy to its system and analyzes the future of its base-load power plants, as well as reducing the risk from expiring PPAs in the next decade.

“We’re excited to add the Mankato Energy Center to our local operations, which already includes several facilities,” said Trisha Rosenfeld, community relations and economic development manager. “We’ve got a long history in southern Minnesota, and this plant gives us the opportunity to deepen our ties to the community.” X

LARGE 760-MEGAWATT PLANT UNDER XCEL ENERGY OWNERSHIP

Mankato Energy Center when it consisted of one unit

FEBRUARY15, 2020 17

‘Gratitude for the particularly excellent service’

Dear Xcel Energy:With the extreme winter weather we’ve been experienc-

ing, I want to express my gratitude for the particularly excel-lent service recently provided to restore my power. I woke up to discover my power was out, and this meant no heat, no lights, etc. Phone service also was out.

Trees were down in my driveway, and there were wires down, laying on top of big drifts of snow. Luckily, I have a fireplace, so built a fire and pulled up my chair.

About 8:30 that night, two Xcel Energy workers came to the door to assure me they would return the next day with more equipment, and my power would be restored. Notic-ing my wood box was nearly empty, they also trudged out to my woodpile and brought me several loads of wood – and walked back up the road to get a phone charger to loan me for my cell phone.

They did indeed return the next day, cleared away the fallen trees and big drifts of snow, and restored my power. The lead worker, who gave me his cell phone number in

case I needed further help, was Branden Hultman [lineman journeyman, Electric Construction, Ashland Service Center, Wisconsin]. He is a superb representative for your company.

—Carolyn in Wisconsin

‘Thank that man from the bottom of my heart’

Dear Xcel Energy: A huge lifesaving “thank you” to Steve [Steve Enge-bretson, district troubleman, Electric Construction, Almena Service Center, Wisconsin], who got me back up – saving me from either dying or going to the emergency room. I give him a huge five-star review, kudos and accolades, and am so very grateful for your employee, who deserves a promotion. I cannot express my gratitude enough in words alone and thank that man from the bottom of my heart.

—Bridget in Wisconsin

AROUND THE COMPANY

LETTERS

ICONIC BLACK DOG CHIMNEY NOW JUST A MEMORYThe iconic Black Dog power plant chimney is now just a memory. The demolition of the 600-foot structure wrapped up recently – a symbolic final piece of the plant’s transition from coal to natural gas that was completed in 2018.

Converting plants from coal to natural gas has helped Xcel Energy reduce carbon emissions as it also adds significant renewable energy to its system.

Internal demolition work on the chimney began in February 2019. Crews then took down the exterior structure in pieces, a foot at a time, until demolition was complete.

Black Dog was built in the 1950s as a multi-unit, coal-fired power

plant. The conversion from coal to natural gas generation began when two coal units were replaced with a natural gas combined cycle unit in 2002.

Two more units were retired in 2015 and replaced with a natural gas-fired combustion turbine.

One of the biggest benefits from the natural gas generating units is they allow Xcel Energy to integrate more renewable resources onto its system by providing round-the-clock energy generation that can start, stop and ramp up and down quickly when the wind isn’t blowing and/or the sun isn’t shining.

XCEL ENERGY AGAIN NAMED A ‘WORLD’S MOST ADMIRED COMPANY’ For the seventh year in a row, Xcel Energy has been honored as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine. The company ranked among the most admired gas and electric companies in the country.

“We are honored to make Fortune magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies for the seventh year in a row,” said Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO. “Being recognized by our peers reinforces our vision of delivering 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050, while keeping service reliable and customer bills low.”

The ranking is based on nine criteria including innovation, investment potential, financial soundness and quality of management, along with social responsibility and the ability to attract talent.

Xcel Energy is the first major U.S. utility to announce a commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80% (from 2005 levels) by 2030, with a vision of delivering 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. That announcement in late 2018 has prompted many other companies to commit to their own clean energy goals.

Fortune magazine partnered with Korn Ferry to conduct the survey on corporate reputation, focusing on large companies with revenue of $10 billion or more. The complete list can be found at www.Fortune.com.

18 XTRA

FRIENDS WE’LL MISS

Katherine Ambrogio, 90, administrative aid, Envi-ronmental and Regulatory Affairs, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., died on Dec. 17, 2019. She worked for NSP from 1969 to 1991.

Richard Disner, 79, sup-port analyst, Construction and Operations Support, Anaconda Tower Building, Denver, Colo., died on Dec. 26, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1961 to 1997.

Michael Dubois, 56, field person, Damage Prevention, Red Wing Service Center, Red Wing, Minn., died on Dec. 8, 2019. He worked for NSP from 2006 until the time of his death.

Elwin Fedie, 84, meter reader thereafter, Durand District Office, Durand, Wis., died on Nov. 24, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1959 to 1993.

Richard Gamache, 69, gas meter lead, Gas Meter Shop, Rice Street Service Center, St. Paul, Minn., died on Nov. 26, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1972 to 2002.

Eli Gilliam, 86, utilityman, Colorado, died on Nov. 20, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1968 to 1994.

Steven Koehn, 66, man-ager, Gas and Electric Field Operations, Newport Service Center, Newport, Minn., died on Nov. 27, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1982 to 2012.

Robert Koenig, 75, plant equipment operator, Admin-istration, Black Dog Generat-ing Plant, Burnsville, Minn., died on Nov. 2, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1979 to 1999.

W.B. Lanam, 82, plant specialist A thereafter, Operations, Cameo Generat-ing Station, Palisade, Colo., died on Dec. 18, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1978 to 1998.

Thomas Larson, 77, lead operator, Substation Opera-tions, Rice Street Service Center, St. Paul, Minn., died on Nov. 30, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1967 to 2001.

Anne MacRae, 70, principal and land rights agent, Siting and Land Rights, 1800 Lar-imer, Denver, Colo., died on Oct. 18, 2019. She worked for PSCo from 1989 to 2015.

Maxine McCollough, 94, night janitor/foreman, Prop-erty Management, General Office, Minneapolis, Minn., died on Nov. 15, 2019. She worked for NSP from 1976 to 1994.

Raymond Michel, 82, Superior, Wis., died on Dec. 7, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1966 to 1991.

Robert Minell, 63, fore-man, System Relay, System Protection Operations and Maintenance, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., died on Jan. 4, 2020. He worked for NSP from 1980 to 2013.

Thomas Mitchell, 98, ser-viceman-journeyman, Lake Superior District Power, Wisconsin, died on Nov. 22, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1966 to 1985.

Richard Moore, 83, shift supervisor, Operations, Tolk Generating Station, Mule-shoe, Texas, died on Dec. 19, 2019. He worked for SPS from 1963 to 1998.

Michael Pritchard, 73, direc-tor, Investor Relations/Share-holder Services, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., died on Nov. 22, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy from 1971 to 2001.

Roger Sagmoe, 62, principal engineer/analyst, Engineering and Equipment Reliability, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Welch, Minn., died on Dec. 5, 2019. He worked for NSP from 2001 to 2014.

Arthur Sanchez, 81, senior programmer, Transmission, Denver, Colo., died on Nov. 6, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1966 to 1994.

Charles Schneider, 83, executive foreman, Opera-tions, Transportation, Arvada Service Center, Arvada, Colo, died on Nov. 10, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1966 to 1994.

Joe Sledge, 67, meter reader thereafter, Meter Reading, Garfield Operations Center, Rifle, Colo., died on Sept. 6, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1988 to 2010.

Lawrence Utt, 51, senior analyst, Supply Chain, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., died on Dec. 25, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy from 2008 until the time of his death.

Thomas Wall, 77, working foreman, Mechanical Main-tenance, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power, Cheyenne, Wyo., died on Dec. 23, 2019. He worked for CLF&P from 1968 to 2004.

Kenneth Williams, 74, me-chanic, Stores, Sioux Falls Service Center, Sioux Falls, S.D., died on Dec. 8, 2019. He worked for NSP from 1965 to 1980.

Patrick Walker, 64, plant operator A, Zuni Generating Station, Denver, Colo., died on Dec. 17, 2019. He worked for PSCo from 1984 to 2017.

Cecelia Williams, 60, representative, PAR, 1800 Larimer, Denver, Colo., died on Dec. 29, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy from 2001 to 2018.

RETIRING

Don Anderson, opera-tions manager, Operations, Sherco Plant, Becker, Minn., retired on Oct. 15, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy for 39 years.

David Billett (davidbil-lett20@gmail.com), se-nior operations manager, Substations Operations and Maintenance, Maple Grove Service Center, Maple Grove, Minn., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 39 years.

Steve Bishop (sbish00@msn.com), locator, Damage Prevention, White Bear Lake Service Center, White Bear Lake, Minn., retired on Feb. 14, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 30 years.

Linda Bradley, plant plan-ner, Wheaton Hydro, Hydro Operations, Western Avenue Service Center, Eau Claire, Wis., retired on Feb. 3, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 28 years.

Bob Brungardt, Mainte-nance, Pawnee Station, Colo., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 38 years.

Tom Casida (tcasida@cableone.net), line working foreman, Line Department, Southwest Service Center, Amarillo, Texas, retired on Jan. 31, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

Michael Cedarblade, opera-tions manager, Distribution Operations, Menomonie, Wis., retired on Dec. 2, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy for 35 years.

Randall Croop (troutcreek@xinkel.us), plant operator, Operations, Hayden Station, Hayden, Colo., retired on Jan. 31, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

PEOPLE

FEBRUARY15, 2020 19

Corrine Decker (cbd331@yahoo.com), plant equipment operator, Operations, Sherco Plant, Becker, Minn., retired on Jan. 9, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 32 years.

Lynn Dreher (2011bluevcc@gmail.com), working foreman, Gas Shop, Valentia Service Center, Denver, Colo., retired on March 31, 2017. He worked for Xcel Energy for 37 years.

Lee Fischer, janitor, Sherco Plant, Becker, Minn., retired on Jan. 3, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

James Fritz (jjkbfritz@com-cast.net), geospatial analyst, Siting and Land Rights, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., retired. He worked for Xcel Energy for 12 years.

Frank Garcia (neverquit@hotmail.com), electrician specialist, Maintenance, Co-manche Generating Station, Pueblo, Colo., retired on Jan. 13, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 39 years.

Danny Gomez (dmgomez@nts-online.net), line working foreman, Line Department, Littlefield, Texas, retired on Jan. 31, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 42 years.

William Greaser, safety con-sultant, Corporate Safety, 790 Buchanan, Amarillo, Texas, retired on Dec. 31, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy for 49 years.

Al Haugestuen, senior work coordinator, Electric Construc-tion, Valentia Service Center, Denver, Colo., retired on Jan. 2, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 30 years.

Alane Howerton (ahow-erton4@gmail.com), talent management consultant, En-terprise Learning, 401 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 42 years.

Michael Hunt (michaelrh50@yahoo.com), engineering de-signer, Distribution Engineer-ing, Pampa, Texas, retired on Jan. 9, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 45 years.

Michael Ibold, senior man-ager, Substation Engineering, 1800 Larimer, Denver, Colo., retired on March 2, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 37 years.

Marsha Kaiser (kdkbobcast@comcast.net), accounts pay-able supervisor, Accounts Payable, Materials Distribu-tion Center, Henderson, Colo., retired on Nov. 15, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy for 30 years.

Robert Keis, foreman, under-ground foreman, Metro East, Rice Street Service Center, St. Paul, Minn., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 43 years.

Kim Kistler, operations scheduler, Centralized Scheduling, Lipan Distribution Center, Denver, Colo., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 38 years.

Linda Machemehl, designer, Distribution Design, Shore-wood Service Center, Shore-wood, Minn., retired on Dec. 31, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

Sherry Macklin, adminis-trative assistant IV, Supply Chain, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minn., retired on Feb. 14, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 39 years.

Kathleen Matolo (taxlady@usinternet.com), customer service representative, Cus-tomer Care, St. Paul, Minn., retired on Dec. 27, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy for 11 years.

Brad Meininger (Brad.Meininger@gmail.com), area engineer, Electric Engineer-ing, Mesa County Opera-tions Center, Grand Junction, Colo., retired on Jan. 16, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 35 years.

Patrick McGuire (pmcguire819@gmail.com), gas technician, Gas, Western Avenue Service Center, Eau Claire, Wis., retired on Jan. 3, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 29 years.

Roberta Miles Boysen, senior engineer, PI Engineer-ing Design, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Welch, Minn., retired on Feb. 3, 2020. She worked for Xcel Energy for 10 years.

Mary Olinger, journeyman locator, Damage Prevention, Edina Service Center, Edina, Minn., retired on Dec. 31, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy for 37 years.

Daniel Plourde (plourde5@yahoo.com), operations manager, Distribution Opera-tions, Hudson Service Center, Hudson, Wis., retired on Dec. 31, 2019.

Charles “Chuck” Rhodes, team lead, Resource Acquisi-tion and Analysis, Denver, Colo., retired on Nov. 4, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy for 21 years.

Timothy Rogers, chemistry foreman, Chemistry, Mon-ticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Monticello, Minn., retired on Feb. 27, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 34 years.

Shari Sowada, administra-tive assistant III, Metro East Design and Construction, Newport, Minn., retired on Dec. 31, 2019. She worked for Xcel Energy for 37 years.

Ted Stang, Maintenance, Sherco Plant, Becker, Minn., retired on Jan. 10, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 35 years.

Robert Thompson (Thomp-son.robert@comcast.net), senior consultant, Transmis-sion Policy and Compliance, 414 Nicollet Mall, Minneapo-lis, Minn., retired on Feb. 3, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

Donny Warehime, line crew foreman, Electric Overhead, Dodge Center, Minn., retired on Jan. 6, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 34 years.

Mark Weigenant (wei-genant@gmail.com), Site Focus Team, Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, Welch, Minn., retired on Jan. 3, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

Steve Werber (sdwerber@ya-hoo.com), account technician, Managed Accounts, 1800 Larimer, Denver, Colo., retired on Dec. 31, 2019. He worked for Xcel Energy for 27 years.

Raymond Wetzbarger (radivetz@bresnan.net), senior gas fitter, Gas, Mesa County Operations Center, Grand Junction, Colo., retired on Jan. 7, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 40 years.

Brian Wolff, lead repair technician, Rice Street Ser-vice Center, St. Paul, Minn., retired on Jan. 31, 2020. He worked for Xcel Energy for 29 years.

© 2020 Xcel Energy Inc.

WE’RE BUILDING THE FUTURE.

We’ve earned international recognition for our carbon-free vision! In December Xcel Energy

received the Award of Excellence – Power at the S & P Global Energy Awards gala in

New York. The award recognizes companies that set and achieve ambitious carbon

goals, and employ strategic planning for top performance and growth. Here’s to bringing

our vision into view on the world stage!

XtraAd_02-2020_P03.indd 1 1/20/20 12:52 PM

414 Nicollet Mall, 401-7Minneapolis, MN 55401xcelenergy.com

XTRAPublished by Xcel EnergyKevin Graham, Editor1800 Larimer Street, 9th FloorDenver, CO 80202Phone: 303.294.2417email: Kevin.Graham@xcelenergy.com

Contributors: Derek Wolden, Shevon Greene, Elizabeth Morris, Troy Foos, Wes Reeves and Randy Fordice

Design: Steve Berry

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