Bill Aids Nuclear Power Upgrade Finance Planning

A bill that would enable Xcel Energy to estimate the amount of money it would recover from rate increases to upgrade its nuclear power facilities at Monticello and Prairie Island won the approval of the Senate Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee Tuesday, March 27. Currently, Xcel Energy presents the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with a multi-year production plan and when approved, determines the amount to invest in the various power plants for upgrades and improvements. The costs are later recovered through rate increases if the changes were deemed prudent by the PUC.

According to Chris Clark, President of Xcel Energy Minnesota, the utility is striving to reach 85 percent carbon free energy production and 60 percent renewables and nuclear power by the year 2030 at a total utility bill impact that would be below the price of inflation. He described the bill as a tool the PUC could use in determining the cost of upgrades at the nuclear power facilities.

Speaking in opposition to the bill, Annie Levenson-Falk of the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, said, "This bill would have the effect of guaranteeing profits for an investor owned monopoly company without cost controls or rate payer protections, and we believe it could be extremely harmful to Xcel ratepayers."