Xcel Energy requests 21% increase in electricity rates; here’s what that could mean

October 26, 2021

KARE11

Kent Erdahl

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesotans are already bracing for big jumps in heating costs this winter, and now the state’s largest electricity provider, Xcel Energy, is requesting a rate increase of around 20% over the next three years.

Xcel is requesting an electricity rate increase of 21.2%, or $677.4 million, between 2022-2024. It includes a 12.2% increase in 2022, followed by 4.8% in 2023, and 4.2% in 2024.

For the average residential customer, the increase would amount to a 19% increase in their monthly bill, which would mean an additional $18.50 per month by 2024. 

“Any increase in the area of 20% — that absolutely should get people’s attention,” said Angie Levenson-Falk, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, a nonprofit advocate for Minnesota’s utility consumers. “Layer on top of that, about one in eight Xcel customers is already behind on their bills. They’re already not able to afford it.”

Levenson-Falk says the Citizens Utility Board will argue for smaller rate increases during the upcoming review process by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. In the meantime, she says customers shouldn’t panic.

“That is a really, really large request, but that’s what it is, a request,” Levenson-Falk said. “Everybody knows they’re not going to get all of what they requested, and so it is going to come in somewhere lower than what they’re asking for.”

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Author: Hannah Hoeger

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