Xcel Energy is seeking a base rate increase for its Texas electrical customers.

The proposal, filed with 80 municipalities, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, seeks an 8.5 percent increase for all customer classes.

If approved, the increase would provide Xcel an additional $71.9 million in revenue, to be used for infrastructure improvements.

A typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month would see their bill go back to the same level it was at in February 2015, before fuel costs were decreased twice. With the base rate increase that same residential customer would see their bill increase to $111.08 per month, only 41 cents more per month than January 2015 bill levels.

According to Xcel Energy, the company from July 2014 through December 2015 invested $1 billion in new and upgraded power lines, substations and generating plant improvements.  Xcel cites those improvements as being partly responsible for a more than $9 decrease in typical residential bills over the past 12 months.

“The investments we’ve made in the grid were made to support the region’s growing economy, and have also made our system more efficient and more flexible,” said David Hudson president of Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy company.  “We’ve also built in permanent cost savings by tapping into a more diverse power market that also includes additional low-cost wind-generated energy. While these investments come with higher up-front costs, customers enjoy the benefits long-term in the same way that a new, more efficient car saves us money on fuel and maintenance costs.”

Xcel’s New Mexico customers will not see an increase in their bills.

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