Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy was built on three companies: Minneapolis-based Northern States Power Company (NSP), Denver-based Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), and Amarillo-based Southwestern Public Service (SPS). Southwestern Public Service Co. (SPS) dates its origins to 1904 and the Pecos Valley in New Mexico when Maynard Gunsell received an electricity franchise for the city of Roswell, New Mexico and its 2,000 residents. The financial strain of creating this new enterprise soon overwhelmed him and he sold the franchise to W.H. Gillenwater, who named his utility the Roswell Electric Light Co. He later sold the company to an investment firm in Cleveland, Ohio, which already owned the Roswell Gas Co.

Northern States Power Company's timeline begins with the organization of the Washington County Light & Power Co. in 1909. When H. M. Byllesby began building his utility holding company across the Northwestern region of the US, he renamed it the Consumers Power Co. in 1910 and which was renamed the Northern States Power Co. in 1916. While the bulk of NSP's territory grew across central and southern Minnesota (starting from the Twin Cities), it acquired territory in North Dakota (centering on Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot) and extended southwest into South Dakota (centering on Sioux Falls). NSP's system also extended east into Wisconsin, but because of utility ownership laws in that state, it was operated as an entity separate from the rest of the company.

Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) was formed in 1923 to provide an electric generating station for the Denver area. By 1924, it had acquired most of the electric companies in northern and central Colorado. Originally a subsidiary of Cities Service Company, it became an independent autonomous operation in November 1943. By this time, it served 80 percent of Colorado's gas and electricity needs. As demand for energy continued to grow, so did PSCo. Eventually, the company merged with SPS to form New Century Energies (NCE) in 1995.

Northern States Power and Wisconsin Energy Corporation had planned to merge into a new outfit that was to be called Primergy - but in 1997, the merger fell through because of the time it was taking to gain the required approvals from state and federal agencies. After the failed Primergy merger, NSP (both the Minnesota and Wisconsin companies) merged with New Century Energies to form Xcel Energy. In 2005, Xcel sold Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power to Black Hills Corporation. Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power had been a subsidiary of PSCo since the 1920s, and had become an operating company of NCE after the merger with SPS.

In December 2018, Xcel Energy became the first major US utility to pledge to go carbon-free, aiming for 80% carbon reduction by 2030, and 100% reduction by 2050.

Utility industry magazine Utility Dive awarded Xcel Energy its 2018 "Utility of the Year" award for its plans for add 12 wind farms, its project with Google to develop new ways for customers to personalize energy management, and its plan to retire 50 percent of its coal-powered capacity by 2026 (and replacing it with a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, and natural gas).

On May 20, 2019, Xcel Energy announced its intent to close all of its remaining coal-fired plants in Minnesota by 2030 while compensating by increasing solar production capacity by 1,400%. It also declared its plans to continue operating its Monticello nuclear plant near Monticello, Minnesota, until at least 2040.

In February 2026, Xcel Energy requested approval from the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for significant electric and gas rate increases of around 10% and 11% respectively to cover infrastructure investments, drawing protests from some customers who argued the utility’s profits and past investments should reduce the need for higher bills.

Xcel Energy primarily provides energy from wind, natural gas, and coal. Carbon-free energy accounted for 50% of its total electricity generation in 2023, with wind and nuclear as the largest contributors.

It has also lowered its greenhouse gas emissions by reducing coal consumption in favor of natural gas. Xcel plans to continue this trend by converting some coal plants to natural gas and closing others. Some environmental activists argue that Xcel is not acting on plans to stop using coal plants fast enough.

Xcel Energy owns and operates three wind farms. In October 2011, Xcel Energy set a world record for electricity from wind power, with an hourly penetration of 55.6% of production from wind. At peak generation wind is the largest source of energy capacity for Xcel.

Xcel Energy owns and operates two nuclear power plants:

Controversies

On August 1, 2002, Xcel Energy Inc. was sued because of engaging in "round-trip" energy trades that provided no economic benefit for the company, and because the company lacked the necessary internal controls to adequately monitor the trading of its power. Xcel paid $80,000,000 in a settlement.

Nuclear waste, radioactive water management

The parent company to Xcel Energy, and later Xcel Energy itself have operated the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant since 1973. Over that time, nuclear waste produced by the power plant has been stored adjacent to the Prairie Island Indian Community. The homes of some members of the community are within 600 yards of the nuclear waste containment site. The island is very vulnerable to seasonal flooding because it is on the bank of the Mississippi River. While in 1991, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission capped the storage of nuclear waste on the island to 17 casks, the legislature has since permitted this number to increase. Environmentalists and members of the Prairie Island Indian Community have been working since 1994 to have this nuclear waste transported away from their reservation due to the combined risk of the temporary design of the storage facility, unpredictable flooding and single evacuation road in the event nuclear waste is released from containment.

On March 16, 2023, Xcel Energy announced that a significant unplanned release of radioactive water from its Monticello nuclear power plant took place on November 21, 2022, which was reported only to state and federal authorities but was concealed from the public until then. Xcel estimated the leak to be 400 thousand gallons of contaminated water containing radioactive tritium. The leak occurred in a water pipe that runs between two buildings.

Fires

The Cabin Creek Fire occurred on October 2, 2007, at Xcel Energy's Hydropower Generation plant in Georgetown, Colorado. On June 1, 2011, Federal prosecutors opened their charges that Xcel Energy was criminally liable for the deaths of the five RPI workers. The jury found Xcel Energy not guilty. On December 19, 2011, RPI Coating plead guilty to workplace safety violations and paid $1.55 million in a cash settlement. The company took responsibility for the deaths of five workers and the injuries to three.

Xcel Energy faces nearly 300 lawsuits filed by homeowners, businesses, and local governments over the Marshall Fire as of early 2024, which started on December 30, 2021 in Boulder County and impacted the communities of Superior and Louisville. Two people died and more than 1,000 homes and commercial properties were destroyed, resulting in more than $2 billion in property damage. It was the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history. The official investigation blamed the fire on a loose wire owned by Xcel and a week-old fire started by members of the Twelve Tribes that was smoldering.

Following the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle, which began February 26, 2024, Xcel Energy acknowledged that its facilities played a role in the ignition of the fire. The fire became the largest wildfire in Texas history, burning more than one million acres, resulting in at least two confirmed deaths and significant agricultural and livestock damage. An investigation by the Texas A&M Forest Service found that power lines ignited the fire. In February 2026, a Texas judge ordered Xcel to replace damaged wooden electric distribution poles and inspect at least 35,000 poles per year; the injunction is temporary as the court considers a state lawsuit set to begin trial in April 2027.