Ask Xcel Energy’s Cheryl Campbell what’s at the top of her list of priorities, and the answer is clear.
“Safety.”
That word, Campbell said, is at the heart of everything Xcel Energy does, from building major pipelines, to converting power plants, to upgrading aging infrastructure. As Vice President of Gas Engineering and Operations, Campbell has been at the helm of a series of large and complex upgrades to the state’s gas services in a notable year of activity for Xcel Energy.
“We are Xcel Energy now, but we started as Denver Gas in 1869, and of course Denver is a very different city than it was then. It’s a different city than it was even 20 years ago,” Campbell said. “We have better technology now, safer technology, and we’ve been implementing this technology even as we improve service and capacity.”
Cheryl Campbell, Vice President of Gas System Design, Operations & Management with Xcel Energy in Denver. Campbell is an alumna of the University of Colorado at Boulder. (Photo by Casey A. Cass/University of Colorado)
Denver’s original gas pipeline, for example, was once mainly cast iron. Cutting edge in its day, cast iron can now be replaced with much safer, durable, and flexible materials. In November of 2014, Xcel Energy achieved a notable milestone by replacing the last of the aging pipeline, putting Colorado on the leading edge of such initiatives.
‘Sayonara’ to smoke stacks
Keen observers will notice something different about Denver’s skyline lately. Look north, and you might wonder what’s missing.
One of the Cherokee power plant smokestacks, which once towered into the blue sky, is gone. The change may have gone unnoticed by many, but it represents a seminal shift in the way Denver receives its power.
As part of the Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act plan, Xcel Energy retired two coal-fired generating units, and plans to retire a third and convert the fourth unit to operate on natural gas. In addition, a new efficient natural gas-fired generating plant is under construction. To enable these changes a new pipeline was needed to bring gas in from a Fort Lupton gas-metering facility. After surmounting a series of engineering challenges, tunneling under three interstates, nine canals, and one river, the installation of the 34-mile, 24-inch Cherokee pipeline was completed in 2014.
This, in turn, allowed for the tearing down of one of the Cherokee smokestacks, and will ultimately allow for the plant to completely switch from coal to natural gas. And, Campbell points out, there was zero lost time to injuries throughout the project.
Robots, pigs, and noses
At the height of Cherokee pipeline construction, 400 crew members were working 60 hours a week. Yet there’s one job humans can’t do, and that’s crawl inside a pressurized pipeline or gas line to anticipate problems before they occur.
That job is reserved for a team of little robots dubbed, “pigs” by their operators. The pigs measure metal loss and other defects while communicating images and data in real-time.
“We’re really in a partnership with our customers when it comes to safety,” Campbell said. “On our side, we have the robots, and a comprehensive safety checklist, but our customers have their nose.”
Xcel Energy adds a “rotten egg” smell to its gas, on purpose, so that customers can tell if there is a gas leak in their home, Campbell explained. If a customer smells a gas leak, Xcel Energy advises that the customer immediately leave their area. When a safe distance away, call 1-800-895-2999, or 911 in an emergency.
Growing demand for a growing city
Day-by-day, foot-by-foot, and moment-by-moment, Xcel Energy is preparing Colorado for what’s to come. As Denver’s energy needs change and grow, Xcel Energy is working to build an infrastructure that can meet and exceed the demands of this growing, energetic region. Learn more at www.xcelenergy.com.
