Xcel Energy
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Xcel Energy, Inc. NYSE: XEL is a public utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. Primary services are electricity and natural gas. Subsidiaries include Northern States Power Company, Public Service Company of Colorado, and Southwestern Public Service Co. On January 21, 2005, Xcel Energy announced the completion of the sale of its Cheyenne Light, Fuel & Power Company electricity and natural gas operations to South Dakota-based Black Hills Corporation.
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[edit] Power plants
Xcel owns two nuclear power plants: the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant and the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant
The Prairie Island plant has been controversial due to the above-ground on-site storage of radioactive waste in large steel casks. This storage is necessary because the United States federal government facility at Yucca Mountain is not yet open (and opposition to the facility is heavy). In 2000, Xcel was one of eight American energy companies to request the opening of a temporary facility in Utah that could store 4,000 casks, but the state's governor Mike Leavitt said he would use all of his power to stop construction and use of such a site. At the time, the Prairie Island facility was limited to storing 17 casks, a limit that has since been increased, although Xcel is required by the Minnesota Legislature to pay the local American Indian tribe $1–2 million each year and explore renewable energy.
Xcel Energy utilizes a transmission systems with lines that carry 115,000 volts, 230,000 volts, and 345,000 volts. Xcel also has a 500,000 volt transmission line that runs from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada to Chisago County just north of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Xcel Energy customers in Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico can purchase wind power through a program known as "Windsource". Customers can elect to pay an extra amount on their monthly utility bills, directing the company to use or purchase more energy from wind farms. This can be done in "blocks" of 100 kilowatt-hours ($2–3 per), or the entire amount of energy can come from wind. As of May 1, 2004, the company had 829 megawatts of generating capacity from wind power spread across five states. This is about 5% of the company's total generating capacity, which is roughly 15,500 megawatts.
Several coal-fired generating plants owned by Xcel Energy are being converted to run on natural gas, which produces fewer emissions.
[edit] History
Xcel Energy was formed as a holding company to own three formerly independent companies: Northern States Power (Minnesota), Wisconsin Electric Power (Wisconsin), and New Century Energies. New Century Energies itself was the result of a prior merger between Public Service Company of Colorado (Denver, CO) and Southwestern Public Service (Amarillo, TX).
Some of NSP's predecessors include: North Dakota - Northwestern Power & Light Co. (now the Minot division), Red River Power Co. (now the Grand Forks division), and Union Heat Light & Power Co. (now the Fargo division). Minnesota - St. Cloud Public Service Corporation (encompassing the general area around St. Cloud).
Xcel briefly owned the then-financially troubled NRG Energy in the early 2000s, roughly doubling the size of the company in terms of employees and generating capacity. NRG went through bankruptcy and soon became independent again.
[edit] Other information
The company sponsors a sports arena, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The 2008 Republican National Convention was held at the Xcel Energy Center.
[edit] External links
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