If approved, the fuel charges for Xcel Energy’s customers will be increased from June 1, 2014.
Xcel Energy said that fuel costs are passed through dollar for dollar with no profit to the company, and currently it is spending more on fuel costs than it is taking in from customer fuel charges, which make up about half of a typical residential customer’s monthly bill.
Under the proposed new fuel cost factor, the increase will be $1.54 per month for a customer using 1,000kWh per month.
Southwestern Public Service Company president and CEO David Hudson said, "By adding more wind energy and building more fuel-efficient power plants, we have managed to go a year without an increase in fuel costs despite a 7.8 percent increase in natural gas prices.
"We will continue to maximize our investment in natural gas and wind energy, which will help us contain fuel costs even as commodity prices rise."
