“Xcel Energy is at the heart of our nation’s clean energy transition,” said Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy. “Guided by our customers’ priorities and enabled by rapidly changing technology, we’re driving toward a clean energy future, bringing reliable, affordable, increasingly clean energy to millions.”
Rapid changes in regulation, legislation, and clean energy goals keep the industry in a constant state of flux. Utility companies are working hard to keep pace with new requirements and technologies. To run a business, provide a service, and maintain daily operations utility companies have their work cut out for them. But not everyone agrees with their methods.
Lawmakers wrote in a letter, “Coloradans are doing all they can to reduce emissions, individually, but without immediate, collective efforts we have no hope of slowing the worst climate outcomes. We, as elected officials, and you, as a utility, have the responsibility of reducing emissions on a large-scale basis. A critical component in that process is reducing greenhouse gas pollution from gas and coal plants.”
Xcel Energy was the first U.S. energy provider to set aggressive goals to reduce carbon emissions from electricity, heating and transportation. But their latest resource plans for Colorado were not immediately approved by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). A rate increase proposal has been cut by more than half. "Though the application included items the city strongly supports, such as investment in wildfire mitigation, it also proposed a 10% increase in equity return for shareholders and rate increases that would further burden residents and businesses already struggling with rising utility costs," a press release said.
The commission will have evidentiary hearings and public hearings on the proposed settlement during the week of July 10 and the final decision should be complete by August.
Despite challenges, Xcel Energy continues to outperform the industry reliability standard, restoring power to 94% of customers within 24 hours during major storm events, and maintains average residential electric bills 20% lower than the national average.