Xcel Energy says it needs to increase spending on infrastructure by $11 billion over the next five years to address a confluence of challenges simultaneously crashing into the electric sector, including the switch to clean energy, an acceleration in the number of energy-hungry data centers and more intense wildfires from climate change.
Just last year, Minneapolis-based Xcel said it would spend $34 billion from 2025 to 2030. But Thursday, it said it needed $45 billion to keep up with the demands on its services — nearly 30% of which would be spent in Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Roughly 63% will fund upgrades and additions meant to modernize and harden the aging transmission and distribution system. That will help Xcel help move wind and solar power across great distances, protect against severe weather and wildfires and guard against what the company described as national security issues.
Xcel’s territory touches eight states, including Texas and Colorado, which have seen devastating wildfires in recent years that led to lawsuits against the company.
“We as a company, we as an industry, are probably going to have to invest at a greater speed than we’ve done in the past to keep up with reliability and safe service for our customer base,” Frenzel said in an interview. “Our customers are demanding speed and scale. The climate demands speed and scale.”
Xcel also said it would ask Minnesota regulators on Friday for a rate increase, though officials did not indicate how much.
The capital spending plan was announced along with the release of Xcel’s third quarter earnings report, which were up 4% to $682 million, or $1.21 per share. Revenue, at $3.6 billion, was up slightly.
