CenterPoint, Xcel want to raise gas rates by more than 9% - Star Tribune

CenterPoint, Xcel want to raise gas rates by more than 9%

CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy — Minnesota's largest natural gas providers — asked regulators Wednesday for rate increases of more than 9%.

The utilities said in filings with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that the increases are needed to pay for things like infrastructure needs and because of inflation and supply chain shortages.

Christe Singleton, Centerpoint's vice president for Minnesota gas, said the company has spent an increasing amount on infrastructure over the past two decades.

"These projects continue to improve the safety and reliability of the system while also bringing long-run environmental benefits," Singleton said in the filing.

CenterPoint, the state's largest provider, split its request over two years, asking for an increase of $84.6 million, roughly 6.5%, in 2024, and another $51.8 million, or 3.7%, in 2025. If both are approved, that would total 10.2%.

The company said the increases would add about $5.91 a month to a typical residential customer's bill in 2024 and an extra $2.58 per-month in 2025. The utility has roughly 830,000 residential customers and another 80,000 commercial and industrial customers. It's the biggest provider of gas in the state.

Xcel asked for an increase in 2024 of $59 million, which is a roughly 9.6% jump. The utility said that would result in higher bills for typical residential natural gas customers of $6.93 a month. Xcel's gas business has about 491,000 customers in Minnesota.

The utility also said in PUC filings that it needs to make capital investments in its natural gas system, but added that inflation has spiked the cost of operations, including supplies and employee wages.

Since rate cases take more than a year to sort out, both utilities asked for interim rate increases for the gas operations that would go into effect in January. The PUC usually grants those temporary rate hikes, but if the final decision on a rate increase is lower than the interim increase, customers are refunded the difference.

CenterPoint requested an interim hike of $68.7 million in 2024 and another $33.2 million in 2025. Xcel's temporary request was $51.2 million.

The rate increases don't reflect the cost of gas, which is passed down to customers directly and will vary with the price of the commodity. The federal government predicts most households in the country will pay less for heating with gas this winter. The Energy Information Administration forecasted natural gas prices will be about 21% lower than last winter.

Last year, the PUC approved a $48.5 million increase in ratepayer revenue for CenterPoint, though commercial customers picked up a larger share of the increase. CenterPoint had asked for $67.1 million. In March, the PUC approved a $20.9 million natural gas rate increase for Xcel Energy, which also was lower than the $35.6 million Xcel requested in November 2021.

The PUC earlier this year approved a lower rate increase than Xcel requested for electricity operations. Xcel is appealing the decision.

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