A research partnership between the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) and Xcel Energy has produced solutions to address growing electricity demand on power grids without requiring expensive infrastructure upgrades. The work focuses on smart energy management strategies that can balance electric loads while maintaining service quality and controlling costs for utility customers.
Xcel Energy, which serves more than 3.7 million electric customers across eight states, identified a need to plan for increased power demand driven by factors including electric vehicle adoption. In response, NLR developed scenarios analyzing selected areas of Xcel Energy’s distribution network to evaluate how different electricity demand patterns might affect grid operations. The research revealed that grid-aware smart energy management combined with flexible charging windows enabled over 94% of charging sessions to be satisfied without increasing transformer overloads in one studied feeder.
The partnership resulted in the creation of EVI-DiST (Electric Vehicle Infrastructure — Distribution System Integration Tool), an open-source software that enables utilities to analyze their distribution networks and assess energy management strategies. The tool operates in two modes: a “Lite” version providing broader insights at lower computational cost, and a “Plus” version offering detailed power flow simulations for specific network areas. This dual-mode approach allows utilities to identify both suitable smart energy management approaches and locations requiring infrastructure investment.
NLR’s multidisciplinary team combined transportation and grid expertise over two years to develop the analysis and modeling framework. Researchers mapped Xcel Energy’s grid infrastructure in service areas near metro Denver down to neighborhood levels, then modeled how different smart energy management controls—ranging from time-of-use pricing to grid-responsive solutions—could mitigate stress on power equipment. The open-source release on GitHub aims to make the tool accessible to utilities nationwide while enabling collaborative improvements based on user feedback.