ARTESIA — Xcel Energy and key customer groups in New Mexico have filed a proposed settlement of Xcel Energy’s rate case with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) that will help the utility recover the cost of investments in the region’s growing power grid.
The agreement, which is subject to NMPRC approval, allows Xcel Energy to increase its overall New Mexico retail revenues on Jan. 1, 2012, by 4.7 percent, or a total of $13.5 million. This increase is less than the $19.9 million, or 6.9 percent, revenue increase Xcel Energy originally sought in a March 2011 proposal.
Impact on residential bills will be higher than the overall percentage increase as the company continues an effort begun in 2006 to assign the true costs of serving each customer class. Under the settlement rates filed Monday, the typical 1,000 kilowatt-hour residential bill will rise in 2012 by approximately 5.2 percent, or $4.40 per month. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
