Xcel Energy was recognized by PA Consulting as a recipient of the 2020 ReliabilityOne® Award for Outstanding Reliability Performance in the Plains suburban/rural service area – recognizing the very best suburban/rural service area investor owned utilities in the United States. 

To be eligible for this recognition, a utility must deliver a reliability performance ranked as the top achiever/performer in this demographic/density category.

“We appreciate this honor recognizing Xcel Energy’s exceptional record of providing safe, reliable energy for our customers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota,” said Kelly Bloch, Regional Vice President, Distribution Operations. 

“The award is the result of our dedicated employees who are committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of our customers and the communities we serve.”

Xcel Energy customers on average have electricity service more than 99.98 percent of the time and the company makes significant investments in infrastructure and innovative programs to enhance reliability. 

For instance, Xcel Energy replaced more than 1,900 wood distribution poles and 220 miles of above and underground powerlines in 2019. Xcel Energy crews also worked to clear trees and vegetation from nearly 3,000 miles of distribution lines and 1,000 miles of transmission lines in 2019. The company also regularly inspects its system using infrared technology so repairs can be made before an outage occurs.

 All utilities operating less dense electric delivery networks in North America are eligible for consideration for the Outstanding Reliability Performance in a suburban and rural service area award. The selection of provisional recipients is based primarily on system reliability statistics that measure the frequency and duration of customer outages. 

After provisional recipients are selected, each company undergoes an on-site certification process which provides an independent review and confirmation of the policies, processes and systems used to collect, analyze and report a company’s reliability results.

 “For the past 20 years, the ReliabilityOne® Awards have highlighted outstanding electric utility providers who are building a positive human future in a technology-driven world,” said Gregg Edeson, PA Consulting’s ReliabilityOne® Program Director. “We are pleased to name Xcel Energy as an industry leader for delivering stellar service and restoration efforts while balancing customer needs and optimizing investments.”