Colorado B.S. Thread

Big Boy coming through again.

 

No public viewing in Denver, just a “whistle stop” in Greeley this time.

I saw it in Denver back on July 9, 2022.

 

Xcel Smart Meter, anyone have experience(s) to share?

 

Good news: massive Xfinity outage prevented me from presenting the 2025 strategic business plan to senior leadership.

Bad news: massive Xfinity outage prevented me from presenting the 2025 strategic business plan to senior leadership.

 

Nothing to see here.

The smart meter allows Xcel to implement their Time of Use (TOU) plan.

The TOU plan breaks the year into two seasons: Winter and Summer.

Winter has a cheaper rate per kilowatt hour than Summer.

Within each season there are three tiers of usage rates:

Off Peak (12am to 1pm). Lowest demand, lowest rate.
Mid Peak (1pm to 3pm). Medium demand, lower cost.
On Peak (3pm to 7pm). Highest demand, highest cost.

If you enroll in the TOU plan you will be invoiced according to your usage during those peak tiers.

You can always opt out of TOU and remain on a flat rate (but still have the winter and summer rate delta).

I have solar, that over produces, on my house and a Tesla Powerwall battery pack/inverter. For now I am enrolled in the TOU plan and have my Powerwall settings to ensure maximum dollar credit from Xcel.

During off peak, I’ll recharge my Powerwall and energize my house from the grid. Due to it being the lowest rate.

During mid peak and on peak times I’ll energize my house with the energy from my panels and/or Powerwall. That way I’m not paying a higher rate for energy imported from the grid. All excess energy being produced from my panels, assuming 100% charge of the Powerwall, is then sent into the grid where Xcel buys it from me at their highest rate.

In short: I buy/use energy from Xcel at their lowest rate then sell/export a shit ton more energy to Xcel at their highest rate.

Once I build up a hefty $$$ credit on account (or cash out at the end of the year and invest it) I’ll change the settings on my system to ensure 100% self-sufficiency and import nothing from Xcel and just keep building up $$$ credits.

tl;dr the smart meter is just a piece of hardware that would allow you to sign up for their Time of Use plan. But you don’t have to sign up for their Time of Use plan. If you do, check their website for the three peak tiers times and rates.

 

What Madjik_Man said, basically. We tried ToU, but I think it ended up being a wash for us, cost-wise, and I didn’t like the hassle of having to remember when I could and couldn’t run the dryer, dishwasher, etc., so we switched back to the flat rates.

 

If you work from home it works out OK. I run all my utilities during the work day. Didn't really notice much savings.

 

senior leadership doesn't have a strategic business plan?
They need one presented to them?
Are you certain they are senior leadership?

 

Get the smart meter to avoid the monthly charge (they charge you a monthly fee $11 maybe if you dont have a smart meter) but tell them that you want opt out of peak hours rate. Thats what I did to get my flat excel rate & my monthly bill is always the same (pretty close). Some of my coworkers have had crazy high power bills because they're very active during peak hours when they get off work

 

Yes, the monthly fee to not go with a SM is not desirable, but neither is allowing Xcel to disconnect service due to the potential of severe weather. We do live in an area with buried powerlines and that alone may limit the interruption of service during severe weather events; I hope.

 

Don’t get me started…. lol

 

I don’t think that’s true.

When they cut power due to red flag days, etc, they shut down parts of the grid that are in the most vulnerable areas. I don’t think it’s based on whether lines are buried or not.

The only way to ensure power stays on at your house during any outage is a generator and/or battery storage/back up.

 

Thank u 4 the clarification.

I inadvertently went full tinfoil hat regarding the below bullet point from Xcel

- Two-way communications within your smart meter to provide remote connect/disconnect capability, so your service can be remotely connected or disconnected, depending on state and local requirements. This provides you with a quick and efficient response time to your start/stop service requests.

 

This sounds like larger companies / corporate situations. Status quo.

 

ie "Senior leadership always needs a fall guy"

 

I can see you've survived the corporate world. Wish me luck, I have a few more decades before I retire.

 

you get to retire?! Must be nice

 

Yep. Been working (legally) since I was 14. I’m ready to be done sooner than the normal retirement age. Before 14, I was doing tech support for the family business.