by Grace Hood

If approved, Xcel will collect an estimated $209 million annually from utilities customers beginning Jan. 1, 2007. For the average residential Xcel customer, the cost increase will amount to about $6.52 per month, or roughly 11.61 percent. From year to year, the amount will fluctuate depending on factors such as purchase power costs and natural gas rates.

The rate hike will cover:

¥ Reimbursement to Xcel for $1 billion worth of ground infrastructure costs, including substations, lines and transformers built since 2002.

¥ $24 million for up-front financing costs for the construction of Xcel's Pueblo coal plant. While no date has been set for the next rate increase, Xcel spokesman Tom Henley estimates that it will be close to the plant's completion, in 2009 or 2010.

¥ $30 million to pay cost increases from third-party energy producers, associated with purchase power contract costs.

Other changes include:

¥ Late charge fee. Currently there is none. If approved, customers would be charged 1.5 percent of the bill monthly as a late fee.

¥ Xcel has asked the Public Utilities Commission to increase its authorized rate of return, its total amount of profit allowed, from 10.75 to 11 percent.

By law, Xcel is required to return $165 million of excess funds collected due to a fixed annual electric commodity adjustment rate. Average residential customers will notice a drop in their May 1 bill by about $2.50.

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