With AC off this summer, Xcel profits dip

Xcel Energy, Minnesota's largest utility, saw its third-quarter profit dip by 0.9 percent this year primarily due to lower sales of electricity due to cooler summer weather.

[Dane]

Does this mean lower bills for the customer? Doubt it...

[Bike Bubba]

Actually, it did; revenues dropped, so that had to have reflected lower bills. The place your pocket could be picked is that often, utility companies have guaranteed profit levels. Not sure if that's the case in Minnesota, though.
At least it's not a guaranteed revenue level!

[bill majors]

what about global warming/????

[JohnQPublic]

We're constantly hounded to be energy conscience. So when the weather is nice, we open the windows and turn off the air-conditioner- the enviroment wins, we consume less energy- etc, etc, etc- but no- now we're punished with a 9% rate increase to off-set declining revenues- Give me a break- aint nobody watching over the little guy.

[gtVoyageur]

Profits drop and Excel wants rates to increase. Something fishy in Minnesota. When is Excel going to practice what it preaches about energy efficiency and being green?

Energy conservation and good business practices can go hand-in-hand for a good economic investment return. This is omething Excel and other big businesses haven't figured out yet.

If we conserve energy and our utility bills are lower then the savings can go to other life essentials etc..

Come on Excel practice what you preach!

[Carbon Bigfoot]

More proof that "global warming" is a scam.

[Matt R]

Let us examine this. They preach preach preach, use less be green blah blah blah so the consumer uses less profits go down and they raise rates. So demand goes down yet they raise rates. Thank god for global warming or we may have not had to use our central air/window air units this summer due to the 'unusually cool temperatures'. I am a bit concerned though with global warming that we will use less energy this winter because it will not be as cold. Or is that climate change, it is difficult to keep track of how the wording is changed to cater to what they are selling. This sounds like Macroeconomics 101 to me.

[Incredible70]

Now they have a good reason to ask for another rate increase. Keep on conserving...between that the misguided 'green' energy mandates, pretty soon we will be paying insane electric rates. Yes we can!

[Peter]

Xcel wants us to use less energy. So they can get a rate increase and charge more for less energy used.

AC off means less electricity used in the summer. But if bills stay the same as previous years many customers don't notice the rate increase.