Regulators slim Xcel Energy electric rate increase for South Dakota customers
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission managed to slim Minnesota-based Xcel Energy's proposed electric rate increase through a settlement stipulation on Tuesday, lowering what would have been a $19.58 monthly rate hike for their average South Dakota customer to about $4.67 per month.
The electric rate increase is about 67.5% lower than what the company originally requested when it applied for the rate increase in June 2022. Additionally, this agreement reduces Xcel's estimated overall revenue increase from $44.1 million to $14.4 million.
About 97,500 South Dakota Xcel customers will see the now-reduced rate increase reflected on their energy bill. Because Xcel implemented an interim 19.75% bill in January, the company will refund a portion of the temporary rate charged to customers with interest.
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Xcel, whose most recent rate increase was approved by the PUC in June 2015, cited the company's significant investments in infrastructure, including new wind and natural gas generation facilities, transmission projects and "general economic trends" as the basis for the rate increase.
“As I considered the request, I focused on how Xcel can provide reliable service to meet the needs of its customers in our state, while respecting South Dakota, not Minnesota, values," PUC Chairperson Kristie Fiegen said in a release on Tuesday. "Moreover, the agreement struck a strong chord with me by settling on a rate increase that is substantially lower than what the company originally requested."
The settlement also includes a moratorium that will prevent Xcel from requesting additional base rate increases that would be effective prior to Jan. 1, 2026.
Dominik Dausch is the agriculture and environment reporter for the Argus Leader and editor of Farm Forum. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook @DomDNP and send news tips to ddausch@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Regulators slim Xcel Energy electric rate increase for SD customers
