DENVER — Xcel Energy reported lower earnings than expected this spring, in part due to “unfavorable weather.”
If you do not remember the unfavorable weather, it is because unfavorable to Xcel means customers “used less gas and electricity for heating and cooling, which in turn impacted our sales of natural gas and electricity,” according to a spokesperson.
Xcel reported the second quarter financials in an investor earnings call on Thursday.
From April to June, Xcel earned $93 million in Colorado. In the same three months last year, Xcel earned $132 million.
For the first six months of 2023, though, Xcel is even with where it was last year, earning $307 million in income this year, compared to $308 million in income last year.
Investors on the call, though, were curious about the impacts several Marshall Fire civil lawsuits would have on the company.
In June, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office blamed two fires for the Marshall Fire. The first, a fire on the Twelve Tribes property. The second was a fire most likely caused by Xcel’s equipment about an hour later.
"We strongly disagree with the conclusion of the sheriff's report, and we will vigorously defend ourselves in court,” Xcel CEO Bob Frenzel said on the call.
The quarterly report revealed that Xcel’s insurance policy covers $500 million.
An investor analyst pressed for more information about that policy.
"In terms of the $500 million insurance, what was the cost of that insurance and when was it procured?" Citi Equity Analyst Ryan Levine asked.
“We haven't disclosed the cost, Ryan, and every year, we renew our insurance program, we continue to look at that," Xcel said.
Levine asked another question that several NEXT viewers have been curious about.
“The $500 million, any associated cost with procuring it, is that passed on to ratepayers or is that embedded in your O&M [operations and maintenance] cost outlook?” Levine asked.
"It's recovered through rate cases, yes,” Xcel said.
Xcel’s insurance policy is built into the base rates that customers pay.
For example, on the electric side of the bill, a base rate would be the “time of use” line item.
If Xcel had to pay any legal judgment, it would come from the insurance policy.
What happens if Xcel had to pay a judgment larger than the insurance policy covers? If the company wanted to pass it on to customers, it would first have to be presented to and approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
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