Xcel Energy is demanding yet another rate hike on customers to raise $312 million they say is needed to help pay for all those electric cars they expect will soon plug into the grid.
This would be the third rate increase since last year, when residential customers were hit with a hike of nearly 9%, followed by nearly 6.5% this year. The proposed increase of 8.2% would go into effect next year, reports CBS Colorado.
“As we bring on more electric vehicles, as more customers move to Colorado and the Denver metro area, that requires us to make sure that the grid is able to handle that new load,” said Robert Kenney, President of Xcel Energy Colorado. He says the money will be used to strengthen the power grid, repair and replace infrastructure, and create new programs.
“The future of cars is electric” 🥴 pic.twitter.com/kgnVx7lIAO
— COGA (@ColoradoOilGas) December 12, 2022
And then as an afterthought, Kenney added:
“As well as protecting against cyberattacks, wildfires, extreme weather, those sorts of things,” Kenney said.
Kenney insists that the company’s continuing shift towards renewable energy will save customers money in the long run, although a 23.25% price spike over these three years sure doesn’t seem like much of a trend towards savings.
Meanwhile, how’s that shift to renewables working out for merry old England?
Not so good, according to Bloomberg, which reports wind generation is declining just as temperatures are dropping this winter.
