Xcel's Minnesota Utility Offers To Freeze Base Electric Rates For 2027 And 2028 Instead Of Filing A Rate Case
Northern States Power asks regulators to rule by January 2027 and says it expects to file a rate case in early 2027 if the plan is not approved.
Xcel Energy's Minnesota utility, Northern States Power (NSP-Minnesota), filed a proposal to freeze customer base electric rates for calendar years 2027 and 2028, according to an 8-K filed Friday. It put the plan forward as an alternative to the rate case it had planned to file.
What the 8-K says
The filing describes an Electric Customer Rate Stability Plan, submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) on Friday. A rate case is the formal process in which a utility asks regulators to reset what it charges customers.
The plan has three terms:
- A customer base rate freeze for calendar years 2027 and 2028.
- Faster recognition, over two years, of federal Investment Tax Credit benefits tied to five battery storage projects.
- Continuation of the other true-up and tracker mechanisms approved in NSP-Minnesota's most recent electric rate case.
The company says the faster tax-credit recognition would act as an offset to the added revenue requirement from "ongoing necessary capital improvements." In plain terms, the credits are meant to cover the rising cost of utility investment that would otherwise push rates up.
What it changes
Base rates would stay flat for two years rather than being reset through a new case. NSP-Minnesota has asked the MPUC for a decision on the plan by January 2027.
If the commission does not approve it, the filing says NSP-Minnesota expects to file an electric rate case in early 2027. So the choice for regulators is between the freeze and the traditional filing.
Xcel shares closed at $73.78 at Friday's close, up about 0.6% for the session, which ended before the filing was accepted at 4:50 p.m. ET (market data).
What to watch
The MPUC's ruling on the plan, requested by January 2027, is the next decision point. A rejection would be followed by a rate case filing in early 2027.
The 8-K was signed by Brian J. Van Abel, Xcel's executive vice president and chief financial officer, on behalf of both Xcel Energy and Northern States Power.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — XCEL ENERGY INC (XEL) — SEC EDGAR
- Xcel Proposes Data Center Tariff to Protect Customers - RFD — rfdtv.com
