Xcel Energy’s Colorado customers will pay more on their utility bills after state regulators on Wednesday approved a rate increase.
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Residential customers will see bills rise by an average of $5 per month while commercial customers’ average monthly bill will increase by $7.29. That’s a 4.77% monthly increase for residential customers and a 4.64% monthly increase for commercial customers.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved the electricity rate increase Wednesday morning.
The rate increase will allow Xcel to increase its annual revenue by $157 million, said Ellie Friedman, a rate analyst for the Public Utilities Commission.
Xcel, Colorado’s largest electric provider, originally asked the PUC to approve an increase in annual revenue of $355 million, which would have boosted the average residential bill by nearly 10% a month.
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Xcel requested the rate increase in November and then revised its requested amount in May and again this month after pushback from customers, who complained about Colorado’s rising cost of living.
The commissioners expressed concern Wednesday that Xcel is spending too much money even as its total sales have dipped since 2021.
In 2021, the company’s capital expenditures were $1.6 billion and increased to $5.4 billion in 2025. The utility’s 2026 expenditures are expected to reach $6 billion, said PUC chairman Eric Blank.
“At the end of the day, I remain concerned that if capital spending and rates continue to grow at levels considerably faster than inflation, electricity may simply become unaffordable for many customers,” Blank said.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
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