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Xcel Energy files to recover purchased power costs in Colorado

DENVER - Xcel Energy today requested approximately a 2.5 percent increase in electricity rates to cover the cost of securing power from several new independent producers. The company also asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to suspend approval of the new rates until March 2004; the delay would lessen the impact of the request to customers’ overall winter energy bills.

Xcel Energy usually files for a 30-day approval of such rate requests, which in turn can be tabled by the commission. But, the company requested the March 2004 start date because of customer concerns with overall energy bills and to accommodate full examination of the filing by the commission.

“We fully understand that there is never a good time to ask for an increase in prices. But, at the same time, we must begin the regulatory process now to make sure that we have the mechanism in place to pay for the growing demand for power in our state,” said Fred Stoffel, vice president for policy development.

The company requested the increase, of approximately $31.5 million in 2004, to recover the costs associated with purchasing 1,250 megawatts of electricity from independent producers, which began coming on line earlier this year. The additional power purchases – from natural gas-fired power plants – were approved as part of Xcel Energy’s 1999 Integrated Resource Plan, which examined the utility’s electricity needs and ensured adequate supply for consumers through the summer of 2007. Xcel Energy will add more than 1,800 megawatts of power to its system as a result of the last examination of its power needs.

If approved next year, the increase would be $1.13 a month for typical residential electricity customers of Xcel Energy, and $2.09 a month for typical small-business customers. The rider would be in effect for three years, beginning with an increase of 2.53 percent in 2004.

Xcel Energy’s peak demand for electricity has increased by 60 percent over the past decade, from a high day of 4,014 megawatts in 1994 to 6,419 megawatts on July 24, 2003. Residential demand for electricity has increased by 12.6 percent per household, from 6,767 kilowatt hours in 1994 to an estimated 7,618 kilowatt hours this year.