EnergyColorado

Xcel Energy-Colorado is seeking an increase in natural gas rates to boost its revenue by nearly $171 million, which the utility said will help pay for improvements to the gas distribution system as well as upgrades to the electric grid. The company said in a document filed Monday that a typical residential monthly bill would increase by 7.4% if the Colorado Public Utilities Commission grants its request to defer any increases until mid-February 2025. That’s when a temporary rider on customers’ bills to pay costs from a…

After spending $40,000 to electrify her Boulder home, which included installing heat pumps, K.K. DuVivier was ready to disconnect from natural gas and have her meter turned off. Then she got the bill to flip the switch: $5,333. The bill marked due Dec. 12 arrived after what DuVivier described as frustrating rounds of calls and emails as she tried to stop the gas service she no longer needs from Xcel Energy. The bill didn’t say why she owed more than $5,000. When she contacted Xcel again, DuVivier got an email saying the…

With the temperatures dropping, the natural gas bills for Xcel Energy-Colorado customers could increase. Xcel said Friday that increased wholesale natural gas prices might last a few days as freezing weather across most of the country affects natural gas production and demand. High temperatures in metro Denver are forecast for the low teens and single digits through Monday. Lows are predicted to drop to zero or below. Xcel Energy passes on increases in wholesale prices directly to customers. The company said in a…

A committee of Pueblo community members has recommended that Xcel Energy-Colorado replace a coal plant, beset by longstanding mechanical and operational problems, with modular nuclear units or a gas plant that would capture the carbon dioxide emissions. However, a report released Friday by the Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee made clear that the group’s top choice is what it calls advanced nuclear technology. A nuclear facility will create more jobs and tax revenue for local governments, the report…

Xcel Energy-Colorado has pre-leased space in a soon-to-be-completed building in the River North Art District and plans to move out of its headquarters in downtown Denver in 2025. Xcel, Colorado’s largest electric utility, and real estate firms Ivanhoé Cambridge, Hines and McCaffery said Wednesday that the company has pre-leased all the office space at T3 RiNo, a new six-story, mass-timber building. At 220,172 square feet, Xcel Energy will be the largest office tenant in RiNo, according to a statement by the companies.…

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission will soon consider a $15 billion plan by the state’s largest electric utility that could have long-lasting impacts on efforts to cut the state’s greenhouse-gas emissions, increase the amount of renewable energy on the grid and keep electricity affordable. The commission is expected to make a decision by year’s end on the second phase of Xcel Energy-Colorado’s clean energy plan, which maps out the utility’s strategies for meeting a state mandate of reducing its emissions by at least…

As anticipated, Xcel Energy-Colorado has filed a request for a new electric rate increase, which follows a recently approved natural gas rate hike and a $182.2 million jump in revenue for electric service that took effect in April. The request submitted to regulators Wednesday proposed a $312.2 million revenue increase. Xcel Energy signaled in October that it planned to propose another electric rate increase. The company said in a filing with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission that it “finds itself needing to seek…

Robert Kenney took over as president of Xcel Energy-Colorado while the utility was seeking approval from state regulators for rate increases, a new clean-energy plan and a proposal to cut emissions from its natural gas system. “It has been a very jam-packed four months, both personally and professionally,” Kenney said during an interview in his office in Xcel Energy’s building in downtown Denver. “There’s a lot to absorb. I knew that coming into it, but it’s been a good four months,” added Kenney, who started on the job…

A transmission project that Xcel Energy-Colorado said will help make way for more renewable energy on the grid has received a green light. Xcel Energy said in a statement Thursday that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved plans for the five segments of the company’s Colorado’s Power Pathway, a  project that will cost up to $2 billion and will upgrade the state’s high-voltage transmission system. The PUC issued a written decision June 2. “This project will help us continue on our path to reducing carbon…

Xcel Energy-Colorado is facing a $925,000 penalty by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not complying with regulations on the disposal of coal ash and not properly monitoring groundwater at a power plant in Pueblo. The EPA said in a statement that Xcel Energy has agreed to address groundwater contamination at the Comanche coal-fired power plant and ensure the proper closure of impoundments holding the waste. The settlement was approved last week by the judicial officer for the EPA Region 8 office in Denver. The…