June 16, 2026 10:34 AM UTC

Xcel Energy Seeks Record Rate Increase at PUC Hearing Today

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• by: Colorado Pols

Data centers and associated electricity rate increases have become a major political issue in the last year. Expect that subject to get even more attention in the next 24 hours.

As Judith Kohler reported over the weekend for The Denver Post:

A proposed settlement that would cut 37% off of the electric rate increase sought by Xcel Energy would still be the highest-ever jump in yearly revenue for a utility in Colorado history, according to the state Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate.

The agency represents the public, particularly residential and small-businesses customers, in utility proceedings and opposes the proposal.

The three-member Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which will consider the agreement, has scheduled a hearing by Zoom and will take comments from the public on the rate increase 4:30-6:30 p.m. June 16.

Xcel, Colorado’s largest electric provider, originally asked the PUC to approve an an increase in annual revenue of $355 million, which would have boosted the average residential bill by nearly 10% a month.

We’ve been keeping track of Xcel’s requests over the last 9 months to raise energy rates for consumers for both natural gas and electricity — what Joseph Pereira of the State Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate calls “an ever-growing pancake stack of rates.” Xcel and the PUC recently proposed a settlement in which Xcel would only ask for a yearly revenue increase of $225 million, which would still mark the biggest yearly jump in revenue rates for a Colorado utility in state history. If we were a candidate running in a competitive Primary Election, we’d be making a big deal out of this.

Back to the Post:

The UCA has criticized Xcel Energy for what it says is a piling on of rate increases over the past few years. In addition to the electric rate increase, the PUC is weighing the company’s proposed $190 million increase in annual revenue for its natural gas service.

Xcel has about 1.6 million electricity customers and 1.5 million natural gas customers in Colorado, with significant overlap between the two groups.

“Ultimately, customers are getting hit from all directions, and electric and gas are the first bill they pay. That puts pressure on everything else,” Pereira said.

AARP Colorado, which advocates for people 50 and older, Energy Outreach Colorado, which provides help to low-income utility customers, and the city of Boulder have joined UCA in opposing the proposed settlement.

Xcel counters that its rates for consumers are currently below the national average and that it needs to recover $4 billion in upgrades made since 2022; what Xcel doesn’t say as loudly is that it wants to generate a 9.8% rate of return for its investors. Customers are not seeing those benefits, of course; the PUC noted in 2025 that public complaints about Xcel’s customer service rose 227% between 2022 and 2024.

If you’d like to comment on Xcel’s request, you can do so at a PUC meeting today via Zoom from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Click here to participate.