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News Releases
05/06/2003
Xcel Energy asks for $5.20 rise in Texas residential bill
Company’s prices expected to continue to be lowest in region
AMARILLO, TEXAS - Xcel Energy today asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas for an eight percent increase in typical residential electricity bills, and proportionate increases in commercial and industrial bills, to begin in July and August.
The price increases reflect higher cost of natural gas used at power plants to produce electricity.
If approved, prices of service from Xcel Energy for a home using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month would increase $5.20 above June’s “summer rate” price of $65.54, to $70.74.
Commercial and industrial customers would see larger percentage increases, because they use more electrical energy and because power plant fuel cost-recovery makes up a larger part of their monthly bills.
“We are confident that even after this increase, Xcel Energy will continue to offer the lowest-priced electric service available anywhere in the region,” said David Hudson, Xcel Energy director of regulatory administration.
“We began to forecast this increase months ago, and issued news releases in early March and mid-April advising our customers to expect the higher costs,” he said. “Fortunately, natural gas costs are not predicted to be as high as they were in late 2001, when our price was $78.64 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours of residential service.”
The increased fuel-cost recovery factor will affect 271,754 Xcel Energy residential, business and industrial customers in Texas, Hudson said. The company provides retail and wholesale service throughout the South Plains and Panhandle of Texas.
The fuel-cost recovery portion of an electric bill varies when power plant fuel costs increase or decrease. By law, state-regulated utilities must pass through power plant fuel costs to customers on a penny-for-penny basis-without markup, Hudson said. When fuel costs to utilities go up, the cost-recovery factor also goes up. When fuel costs go down, the cost-recovery factor goes down.
“In Lubbock, during the past 12 months, Xcel Energy rates have been on average ten percent below our competitors’ rates,” Hudson said. “Recently, one competitor here raised its prices to as much as 30 percent above Xcel Energy prices. We will maintain our competitive advantage because our costs of producing electricity continue to be the lowest in the region. That’s true because we use coal-fueled and well as gas-fueled power plants, and coal keeps our prices down.
“We are confident Xcel Energy’s prices in the high-consumption summer months and the remainder of the year will range from 15 to 20 percent lower than prices offered by our Lubbock competitors, that we will continue highly reliable service, and apparently will remain the only area utility that provides a full range of customer services, 24 hours a day,” he said.
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Lubbock contacts:
Curtis Corder, 806-765-2864
Steve Deaton, 806-765-2921
Elsewhere:
Bill Crenshaw, 806-378-2120
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