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Denver – Xcel Energy spokesman Tom Henley said Tuesday that the company has reached a “settlement in principle” with the Public Utilities Commission regarding a controversial gas rate hike proposal.

He said the settlement must be filed with the PUC by Dec. 20. “We won’t have any details until it’s filed,” he said.

He said a hearing before the PUC set for today has been canceled. Witnesses for Xcel and for interveners were to testify.

The proposed rate hike would have increased customers’ natural-gas bills by $34.5 million a year. Under Xcel’s original proposal, much of the rate hike would have been shouldered by residential users.