DENVER — Despite the cool temperatures in May and June, Xcel Energy customers received email alerts that their electric bills were increasing more than 300% compared to last year.
Several Next with Kyle Clark viewers forwarded those High Bill Alert emails wanting to know what was going on.
“I track my monthly expenses for my gas, electric, insurances, everything, to keep a handle on my retired income, to make sure that I’m not overspending it,” said Highlands Ranch Xcel customer Danny Ruth.
Imagine his surprise when he opened an email saying that his upcoming electric bill was projected to be about $320 compared to $73 at the same time the year before.
“When I got this email from Xcel that said my upcoming bill was in the $300-plus range, I felt really funny about that because my bills were trending downwards, almost to the point of getting under $100,” Ruth said.
He keeps a spreadsheet of his charges.
In May 2022, his electric bill was $61.45 for 442 kWh of electricity. In May 2023, his bill was $71.09 for 510 kWh.
In June 2022, his electric bill was $73.56 for 510 kWh of electricity. In June 2023, the email projected his bill to be about $320. That would be a 338% increase.
“Because I had been tracking things, it was quickly, immediately obvious to me something wasn’t right,” Ruth said. “I don’t know about other people, though, what they went through when they got the bill, what gyrations they went through.”
Another customer from Aurora sent Next his email with an electric bill projected to be increasing from $58 in June 2022 to $260 this month. An increase of 348%.
A customer from Denver received an email showing an electric bill projected to be increasing from $82 to $338. An increase of 312%.
Another customer received an email showing an electric bill projected at $260, up from $58 the same time last year. An increase of 348%.
When Next reached out to Xcel Energy about this on June 1, the company did not reply until June 5.
A spokeswoman said, “As for the High Bill Alerts, we are working with the vendor that distributes these notifications to determine how many customers received the notification and if there is an error. As this is being investigated, these notifications have been suspended.”
On Monday, Xcel sent customers an email saying the High Bill Alert emails “may not be an accurate projection.”
Dear Valued Customer,
We recently sent you a "Trending High" Bill Alert email with incorrect information. Please disregard the alert you received, since it may not be an accurate projection of your upcoming bill.
High Bill Alerts are designed to send a message when your next bill is projected to be 30% higher compared to the same time last year. The message you received was sent by mistake, due to a miscalculation in the bill projection system used by our partner to create these alerts. The error has since been corrected.
We sincerely apologize for the confusion and inconvenience.
“They responded right in the nick of time when my patience had almost run out on getting a nonresponse,” Ruth said.
On Monday night, Next sent Xcel the following questions:
- How many received the error email?
- How many corrections emails were sent?
- What was the reason for the error? -- The email to customers says a "miscalculation in the bill projection system used by our partner to create these alerts." What does that mean? Who is the partner? What do you use that partner for?
On Tuesday, an Xcel spokeswoman declined to give any details.
“We have already been communicating with our customers on this issue. If they have further questions, we encourage them to call us at 800-895-4999,” Xcel said.
Unlike if there were a data breach, there is no requirement that Xcel report details of the email error with the Public Utilities Commission or the Attorney General’s Office.
“I’m appreciative that they apologized, at least it showed some accountability to me. I was happy for that. We all make mistakes,” Ruth said.
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