In a recent ruling, Xcel Energy was ordered to refund approximately $56 million to Minnesota customers for replacement power costs linked to a 2011 power plant outage. The outage occurred when a turbine at Xcel’s Sherburne County Generating Station failed, forcing the plant offline for nearly two years. During this time, Xcel purchased more expensive power from the grid.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) determined that Xcel did not properly maintain the plant, delaying an inspection that could have prevented the turbine failure. As a result, the PUC ruled that Xcel, not ratepayers, must cover the replacement power costs with interest. The exact refund amount will be announced soon. This decision follows advocacy from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Department of Commerce to protect consumers from bearing the cost of Xcel’s imprudent maintenance practices.
Attorney General Ellison praised the ruling, emphasizing the need for utility companies to act responsibly and avoid passing on the costs of their mistakes to customers.