Let’s take a moment and go back to 2009. No, not because we could all listen to the Black Eyed Peas hit album E.N.D for the first time again. Alternatively, because it was an exciting time for the energy infrastructure in our city, Boulder, CO. Xcel Energy announced the pilot of their new project SmartGridCity and promised to turn Boulder into the “ultimate smart grid hub”. This project promised Boulder residents wind turbines, battery systems, solar panels, and smart meters all connected to a smart grid that would power the city. Residents would benefit from an efficient and modern new technology system that would save them money on their energy bills, all while reducing carbon and making Boulder a pioneer in the future of energy. Residents were really excited about a smart grid in their city and rightfully so. Sounds amazing right? Well, as you may or may not know, this project failed quite terribly. 

After the project failed, residents were upset with Xcel and lost their excitement for a smart grid. Operations were halted, the smart grid was forgotten about, and no one in Boulder has put too much thought into such a project since. Xcel over-promised what they would deliver to our city, was unprofessional, and did not budget accordingly. They let our city down and made residents cautious about the idea of a smart grid. It’s time to reverse the damage Xcel did and get Boulderites excited about a smart grid again. Boulder is an ideal city for a smart grid and as residents, we need to push for a new wave of smart grid implementation. This will save us money on energy bills, modernize our city, protect our energy distribution network, and help protect the environment of our beautiful city. 

It’s important to understand Boulder’s rocky history with the smart grid. In 2008 Xcel proposed its SmartGridCity project in Boulder and in 2009 the project began. Xcel promised Boulder residents their own smart meters as part of the larger smart grid. Xcel told residents that having one of these smart meters would help them, conserve energy, reduce outages, and save money.

 Each household would get its smart meter to connect them to the grid and Xcel would build the entire grid’s infrastructure. So here’s what went wrong. First, this proposed 15 million dollar project turned into an over 42 million dollar money eater. A large contributor to these ballooning costs was the unnecessary decision to tunnel through rock to place the backbone of the underground fiber system. Additionally, Xcel didn’t acquire the proper permits they needed for a project of this size, basically setting themselves up for failure. Quite possibly their biggest mistake though was letting the community lose their excitement about the project. After Xcel proposed the project, they let the community forget about the incredible new technology that was developing right here in Boulder. They failed to tell residents that their meters had been installed and no one saw the immediate benefits of the smart grid. A graduate student at the University said “I had a smart meter, but I didn’t even know I had a smart meter”. Perhaps if Xcel had told residents about their new meters and kept the community informed, the community would have been able to support the project’s success. 

Smart grids are an incredible new(ish) technology– the technology of the future. If we truly want to transition to renewable energy like solar, wind, and hydro, we have to get serious about smart grids. A lack of situational awareness and control over the traditional grid,  what Boulder currently operates on, makes it vulnerable to disturbances and causes consumers to pay more on their energy bill each month. The traditional grid can also become overloaded causing blackouts. Additionally, it does not report exact consumer energy usage back to your energy company so the bill that you’re receiving every month is really just an estimate. A smart grid can adapt in order to support whatever load may be placed on it. A smart grid uses smart meters that constantly report your exact energy usage back to the energy company so you’re only being charged for the energy you use. This is why smart grids are the future of renewables and our community. 

If Boulderrites can come together to ask, as a community, for a second shot at a smart grid, there are companies who will help us. Companies like Cisco, Sunverge, and Tendril to name a few. A community has never come together to ask for something like this, so let’s try it! If Boulder can get excited about this project and keep the momentum going, a smart grid in Boulder can and will be successful. That is why invite you to help make Boulder smarter, share this article with your family, friend, neighbors– the people of Boulder. This is just the beginning but if anyone can do it, it’s Boulderrites.