Xcel Energy launches transparency pledge as data center power demand raises cost fears
Xcel Energy is launching an initiative in Amarillo to explain how infrastructure costs associated with large new electricity users, including data centers, will be assigned. The company says data centers in the Texas Panhandle currently connect to ERCOT rather than Xcel's grid, and any future connections would require planning, tariffs and coordination with the Southwest Power Pool.
Xcel Energy has launched "Our Energy Pledge," a website and public-information initiative intended to explain how the utility manages energy prices and protects customers as electricity demand grows across the Texas Panhandle. Justin Smiley, strategic planning director at SPS Regulatory, said large users such as data centers would be responsible for their transmission and generation costs, with infrastructure designed around the specific load they create.
Xcel said no existing data centers in the Panhandle are currently connected to its grid; those facilities are connected to ERCOT. Before a data center could connect to Xcel's system, the utility would need to file a large-load tariff and coordinate with the Southwest Power Pool to maintain grid reliability. Smiley said the company is also upgrading aging infrastructure because of broader agricultural, oil and gas growth in the region.