Xcel Energy said Monday its customers’ electric bills won’t climb quite as fast as expected in November.
On Oct. 5, the utility told the Public Utilities Commission that homeowners would see a power rate increase of almost $16 per customer on average.
On Monday, Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz said Xcel amended its filing with the PUC, saying the average increase would be about $11 because natural-gas prices are dropping nationwide.
Stutz said heating bills in Colorado next month may also be lower than originally predicted because of the falling natural- gas prices, but he couldn’t say when any change would be announced.
“It’s still going to be high; it’s still going to be 19 percent,” Stutz said of the electric-bill increase.
“We know bills for our customers are going to be very difficult anyway, so let’s amend our filing, get it down to a more manageable level.”
Xcel Energy passes its costs to generate electricity directly to consumers based on its costs for natural gas and coal – the top two fuels used to generate power in Colorado.
The same pass-through cost applies to natural gas customers use for home heating.
The change means the average residential electric bill in November will be $63, not $69 as projected.
State regulators are expected to approve the rate hike, which would go into effect Nov. 1, said Tom Bote, a Public Utilities Commission spokesman.
“It’s certainly the first good news we’ve had in quite a while as far as natural-gas prices and their impact on rates and their trend downward,” Bote said.
Oil and natural-gas prices are dropping quickly across the country as production comes back on-stream in the Gulf following the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, said John Tobin, an energy analyst and director of the Energy Literacy Project in Colorado.
Consumer prices will be higher than they were last year and they’ll remain volatile, Tobin said. But they won’t spike again unless there’s another storm on the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina or any “terrorist issues,” Tobin said.
“Terrorist issues don’t affect natural gas directly. They affect oil. But if they affect oil, they will pull up everything else with it.”
The 19 percent electricity rate increase is compared with November 2004 costs of $53 for the average homeowner.
Xcel neither profits nor loses money from monthly changes in natural-gas prices. It just passes them on to its customers.
The total electric and home-heating bill for the average residential customer is expected to be $194 in November, compared with $147 in November 2004.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
Some relief
Xcel said Monday that natural-gas prices have dropped in the past 20 days, allowing it to reduce its expected bill increases for November. What it means for the average home owner’s bill:
November 2005
Electric: $63.06
Natural gas: $131.38
Total: $194.44
November 2004
Electric: $53.02
Natural gas: $94.22
Total: $147.24
Based on electric usage of 625 kwh and natural-gas home-heating usage of 104.7 therms
