DENVER, Colorado (Feb. 5, 2020) – Xcel Energy—Colorado asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission today to evaluate the cost of natural gas service after making extensive upgrades in the last several years to support a safer, more reliable natural gas system.  

Since 2016, the company has made significant investments to strengthen the natural gas system, enhance reliability, reduce emissions on our system, and meet our customers’ and communities’ needs as the state experiences growth. This includes adding equipment to improve system resiliency, allowing for better monitoring to pinpoint abnormal conditions, expanding capacity for new customers, and ultimately, increasing safety and reliability for our customers in times of need. Improving our pipelines makes the system tighter, resulting in fewer leaks and lower methane emissions.  

“Investing in our natural gas system allows us to continue to deliver gas services with high reliability and provides for improved system resiliency to better serve our customers, especially during severe winter weather when customers’ need for natural gas is highest,” said Alice Jackson, president of Xcel Energy— Colorado. “We’re doing this while keeping customer bills low. Affordability is the cornerstone of our business, and we always work to keep customer bills low while making the improvements needed to deliver safe, reliable service.” 

If approved by the CPUC, residential gas bills in Colorado would remain more than 20% below the national average and among the lowest in the nation. The typical residential natural gas customer would see an increase of $6.44 per month, while an average small business would see an increase of $19.51 per month.  

Market trends help to keep customers’ gas bill low. Commodity prices for natural gas have fallen 88% since 2005, and fuel costs make up about 40% of a residential bill. These fuel cost reductions are passed directly to customers.  

In the last four years, the company has made more than $1.2 billion in investments in its natural gas system. Communities with projects that have been completed or are underway include:

  • The $63.9 million Tungsten-to-Blackhawk Project serving Georgetown, Blackhawk, Evergreen and Idaho Springs is scheduled for completion in September 2020. 
  • The North Metro Project, completed in May 2019, was a $51.7 million effort that increased capacity in the Denver Metro area.
  • Sterling Ranch is a $14.5 million project connecting the master-planned community in Douglas County while supporting system resiliency in the south Denver Metro area.
  • More than $40 million in infrastructure improvements have also been made in in the communities of Grand County, Grand Junction, Broomfield and southern Weld County.

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About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.