Dick Kelly, who started his career as a summer meter reader in Denver and became Xcel Energy’s chief executive, announced Wednesday he would retire in August.
Kelly, 64, will be succeeded by Benjamin Fowke III, 53, Xcel’s president and chief operating officer, the company said in a statement.
Kelly’s 5 1/2-year tenure as CEO and chairman has covered a major shift in corporate strategy and the resuscitation of the company’s share price.
A Denver native, Kelly got a summer job as a meter reader with the local utility, Public Service Co. of Colorado, to help pay his tuition at what was then Regis College.
He parlayed the summer job into full-time service with Public Service in the auditing department, where he took inventory of light bulbs. He gradually worked his way up the corporate hierarchy.
In 2005, Kelly became chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy, which was the product of the merger of several utility companies and is based in Minneapolis.
On Tuesday, Xcel stock hit a nine-year high of $25.23 in New York Stock Exchange trading.
“Xcel has quietly put together a sustained performance in share price and dividends,” said Paul Franzen, an analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis. “Dick Kelly has been an important part of a very successful story.”
Kelly’s total compensation package in 2010 was nearly $10 million, according to company filings.
Kelly initiated a strategy called “Building the Core,” focused on increasing the company’s generation capacity and boosting rates.
Since 2006, Xcel has received three Colorado rate increases totaling $391 million and two in Minnesota for $223 million, with a $126 million rate request pending.
Kelly also pursued an environmental and renewable-energy agenda that made Xcel the largest wind-powered investor-owner utility.
“After Xcel fought wind projects for years, Dick Kelly set a new tone,” said Ron Lehr, a former chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission who now represents the American Wind Energy Association.
“Xcel and Dick Kelly have been incredibly good partners with great community outreach,” said Wendy Mitchell, CEO of the Aurora Economic Development Council.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
