An area electricity provider is seeking to add a charge to Texas retail customer bills.

Xcel Energy is seeking an additional $13 million in annual revenues to cover costs associated with a $173 million investment of new and updated high-voltage transmission lines built in Texas.

If approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the new charge would appear on Texas customer bills starting January 1st, 2014.

Xcel Energy estimates that the proposed increase would result in a monthly hike of $1.51 for residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours, which is a 1.5 percent increase.

“These investments are driven by a vibrant economy,” said Riley Hill, president and CEO of Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy company. “As partners in our region’s progress, we are obligated to make timely investments in the power grid to provide our communities the abundant and reasonably priced power that will sustain economic growth for years to come.”

The increase would come through a line-item charge known as the transmission cost recovery factor.

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