Xcel Energy customers who use air conditioning will get an extra chill opening their summer bills under new seasonal pricing.
Xcel’s electric rates will be higher during the hottest months of the year and lower during the rest of the year.
While the net effect will be a slight reduction in year-round consumer bills, air- conditioner users may see a noticeable spike starting with their June bills.
The seasonal rate plan’s rationale is that because electric use goes up in the summer, Xcel must have extra system reserves to accommodate peak consumption days.
“We have to have more generating capacity at our disposal in the summertime to meet the demand for electricity as needed,” Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said.
On average, residential customers will see summer electric bills rise only 15 cents a month to $55.32 under the new plan.
But a typical central-air-conditioner user will be hit with an average summertime monthly electric bill of $88.89 – about $3 more than under last summer’s rates.
Over 12 months, the new rate plan’s impact on all residential customers – with and without air conditioning – will drop electric bills by an average of 2.2 percent, or $14.60 a year.
Typical small-business customers will have electric bills rise by an average of $11 a year under the new plan.
The seasonal rates were approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission this month and will take effect June 1.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
