More than $40 million to be refunded to Xcel customers after Attorney General Ellison’s Office and Commerce Dept. intervene

In 2023, Xcel Energy employees cut through buried cables that caused Prairie Island nuclear power plant to go offline for three months; Xcel passed costs of replacement power onto consumers

Today, Public Utilities Commission sides with AG Ellison’s Office and Commerce Department that Xcel must refund consumers for those costs: $40.6 million plus interest

May 7, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that Xcel Energy will be providing a refund of $40.6 million, plus interest, to Xcel’s Minnesota electric customers thanks to a ruling of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). At a hearing today, the PUC sided with Attorney General Ellison’s Office and the Minnesota Department of Commerce when it ordered Xcel Energy to refund all replacement power costs that Xcel incurred resulting from a power plant outage in 2023 for which Xcel was responsible. The refund to customers comes to $40.6 million plus interest, which will likely come in the form of a bill credit in the coming months.

“Xcel passing on its costly mistake to consumers who were in no way at fault was unacceptable,” Attorney General Ellison said. “My office stands up for ratepayers who can’t afford their own lobbyists, so we pushed back and argued consumers should get a full refund. At a time when the cost of too many items we can’t do without is already way too high, I’m gratified the PUC sided with us and Xcel customers will see the relief they deserve.”

“Minnesotans should not have to pay the price for a utility company’s mistakes,” said Minnesota Department of Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. “We fought to make sure customers were treated fairly, and our staff’s careful review helped secure the refund Minnesotans deserve. This decision sends a clear message that utility companies must be accountable when their mistakes affect consumers.”

In October 2023, Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant shut down when Xcel employees cut through buried electric cables that supplied power necessary for the plant to operate. The damage caused the plant to be offline for over three months. To make up for the lost power, Xcel purchased replacement power from the regional grid during that time. The replacement power was more expensive, and Xcel passed the increased costs on to ratepayers.

Instead of taking responsibility for causing the outage, Xcel waited until after a Department of Commerce analyst found a discrepancy buried in compliance paperwork before acknowledging the Xcel’s own workers severed the cables.  In late 2024, the PUC found that Xcel acted imprudently by lacking appropriate safeguards and not providing reasonable oversight of its workers.

The PUC then ordered additional proceedings to determine the amount of replacement-power costs that Xcel passed onto customers and determine a refund amount. In the ensuing 17-month proceeding, Xcel argued that it should be credited for various “benefits and offsets” that would reduce the refund by more than $26 million. 

The Attorney General and the Department of Commerce opposed these offsets as unsupported and against principles of Minnesota public utilities regulation. The Attorney General and the Department of Commerce also supported an alternative calculation of Xcel’s replacement-power costs.  This alternative calculation, presented by a consortium of Xcel’s large industrial customers, showed that Xcel underestimated the outage’s cost to ratepayers. An administrative law judge (ALJ) agreed and recommended that Xcel be required to refund the full amount of the alternative calculation — $40.6 million — with interest.

Today, the PUC agreed with the ALJ’s key findings and ordered Xcel to refund all $40.6 million in replacement power costs plus interest to ratepayers. The amount of interest that will be paid has yet to be calculated.

AG’s Office represents individual and small-business utility customers under law; also represents Department of Commerce in advocating for utility ratepayers at PUC

Under state law, the Attorney General advocates for the interests of residential and small-business utility consumers, through the Office’s Residential Utilities Division. The division’s attorneys and financial experts scrutinize utilities’ proposals to the PUC, file written analysis, and participate in contested proceedings before the Commission and the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings. The Commerce, Elections, and Trades Division of Attorney General Ellison’s office represents the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which also advocates for utility ratepayers. Staff in both divisions and at the Department of Commerce contributed to securing this victory for ratepayers.