Xcel Energy Cancels Fuel-Recover Surcharge

Xcel Energy has announced the cancellation of a surcharge intended to go into effect on November 1, 2014, due to falling natural gas prices.

The Minneapolis-based company announced the planned surcharge in September citing under-collected fuel costs from May 2014. A base-rate change of roughly six percent went into effect on October 2 that was also announced in September.

According to Xcel, the charge would have added $2.70 per month on a typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential bill. David Hudson, president and CEO of Xcel’s Southwestern Public Service Company, said the current rate used to recover fuel charges for electricity generation is sufficient and does not require an increase.

“Low fuel prices are always good news for our customers, and though we have no control over the cost of natural gas, we will continue to make improvements to use gas more efficiently and will pass those savings along to customers.”

Xcel reports that almost 40 percent of energy consumed across the region is generated using natural gas-fueled plants.