In 2010, Xcel Energy selected TKDA as an Alliance Partner, making the firm a preferred architectural and engineering provider for a five-state region. Valued for our response time, we offer on-site support for Xcel’s Property and Tenant Services that oversee vehicle storage, fueling and maintenance facilities, call centers, and the downtown Minneapolis service centers. Prior to this new role, we had provided engineering design for numerous service center renovations and expansions for over 30 years. Though often small projects, that formative work provided TKDA with valuable insight into Xcel’s many different operations, an understanding which impacts our design decisions today. For example, we now routinely specify more remote monitoring and automated controls for Xcel’s less accessible locations to minimize their on-site maintenance.
As an Alliance Partner, TKDA’s role has evolved from designer and problem solver to a trusted advisor: developing standards, writing specifications, and offering benchmark advice and sustainability guidance. We maintain ongoing communications with staff from weekly status reports to semi-annual reviews. The result is a proactive, partnering approach to design, providing scope of work narratives and budget assessments that help Xcel Energy prioritize their long-term needs.