An interim 5.2% increase starting Jan. 1 was approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
MINNEAPOLIS — Xcel Energy is proposing raising the average customer rate by 9.6% as the company invests in clean energy projects.
“Those investments are really focused on supporting the economy of the future and increased electricity demand from businesses that are expanding across our region and demand from things like electric vehicles and the electrification of homes and businesses,” Xcel Energy’s President for Minnesota and the Dakotas Ryan Long says.
Xcel submitted a two-year proposal to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission this past fall that would raise rates by 9.6%, which is about $9.89 a month for the average customer in 2025, and an additional $3.90 a month in 2026.
The Minnesota Public Utilities commission is currently reviewing this request.
During this review process the commission has approved an interim rate increase of $5.39 a month that is effective January 1st of 2025.
The commission says if their review process leads to a rate that is lower than the interim rate customers will receive a refund for the difference.
“Over the last four years the difference between the rates our state’s electric, gas and utilities have asked for and what the commission ultimately approved is over $1.7 billion. That is a significant amount of money that the commission has not allowed utilities to charge customers,” Minnesota Public Utilities Executive Secretary Will Seuffert says.
Xcel Energy customers can share their opinions of the proposed rate increases by contacting the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
Those comments can be submitted both online or in-person during one of the public comment periods that are on the commission’s 2025 schedule.
According to Xcel, the actual bill increases will be lower “as we pass hundreds of millions of dollars in savings on to customers in the next two years, as lower costs for the fuel used to generate electricity and federal tax credits for our carbon-free nuclear energy generation.”
The company is planning to extend operations of two nuclear plants for 20 years beyond their current licenses. Xcel announced Thursday the Monticello nuclear plant received federal approval to extend operations,
“The Monticello plant has long been an essential source of clean, safe and reliable energy, powering more than 500,000 homes annually in the Upper Midwest,” said Bob Frenzel, Xcel Energy chairman, president and CEO, in a statement. “As the only 24/7 carbon-free energy source we have, nuclear energy will be key to accelerating our journey to a clean energy future while ensuring we also meet the unprecedented growth in our customers’ demand for electricity.”
Xcel is also planning to invest more in wind and solar energy, and add battery energy storage systems. This past November, Xcel Energy celebrated the completion of the first phase of the utility’s massive Sherco Solar Project near Clearwater.