By: Michael E. Martinez

In August 2000, New Century Energies merged into Northern States Power Co. (NSP), which was renamed Xcel Energy. Xcel Energy is an electric and natural gas company serving over ten Western and Midwestern states. They currently have 3.3 million electric customers and over 1.8 million natural gas customers; company headquarters are located in Minneapolis, MN.

 Late in 2005, Xcel planned to acquire 775 megawatts of wind power capacity for its Colorado system by 2007, positioning the company to become the nation's largest utility user of wind energy. On January 21, 2005, XEL completed the sale (announced in January 2004) of Cheyenne Light Fuel and Power Co., which served 38,000 electric customers and 31,000 gas customers in and around Cheyenne, WY.

Xcel also said it intends to buy about 1,300 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation between 2007 and 2012, as well as 30 megawatts of energy supplied by various bidders. The proposed acquisitions are part of a "least-cost resource plan" filed with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The company has 282 megawatts of wind power generation in operation or under construction in Colorado. Xcel, which operates in 10 states, expects to have more than 1,100 megawatts of owned or purchased wind capacity on its entire system by early 2006 and roughly 2,300 megawatts of wind capacity by the end of 2007.

On April 8, 2005, the company completed the sale of Utility Engineering Corp. (UE), a provider of construction management services, and four of its five subsidiaries. The former UE subsidiary Quixx, which invests in non-utility power generation projects, was not included in the sale. Xcel's other remaining non-regulated non-utility business is Eloigne, which invests in projects qualifying for low income housing tax credits. In December 2003, directors approved plans to exit the remaining businesses of Xcel Energy International. In January 2003, Xcel sold Viking Gas Transmission Co., for net proceeds of $124 million.