Leaders at Xcel Energy say a deal with Google for a nearly 1 GW data center in Minnesota, announced earlier this year, will serve as a model for large load tariffs the company will pursue in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico and Wisconsin.
The agreement with Google, which is pending regulatory approval from state utility regulators, would require the tech giant to cover the entire cost of infrastructure to serve its new data center, according to Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy.
The company has already filed for a large load tariff in Colorado with similar terms that include long-term contracts with termination fees, credit requirements, and incremental cost tests, Frenzel said.
“We believe our partnerships with hyperscalers, communities and developers have set a high bar for responsible large load development,” Frenzel told analysts on the company’s first quarter earnings call on April 30. “We’re partnering to ensure large load growth strengthens our overall system, benefits our local communities, maintains our states’ clean energy goals and doesn’t increase costs for our existing customers.”
$60B
Five-year capital plan.
2 GW
Data centers contracted or under construction.
$933 million
Electric rate base increases sought across four states.
Xcel Energy plans to supply Google’s Minnesota data center with 1.9 GW of new wind, solar and long-duration storage in the form of a 100-hour iron-air battery. Xcel will focus on building the wind and solar generation first to capture expiring clean energy tax credits, Xcel Energy Executive Vice President and CFO Brian Van Abel said. The energy storage, which has a longer tax credit window, will come later.
Similarly, Xcel Energy has front-loaded its current five-year development plan with solar and particularly wind to capture production tax credits, Van Abel said. The company plans to deploy 2.1 GW of wind, solar and battery resources this year, with 2.2 GW planned per year for 2027 and 2028. The company plans to build 1,500 miles of additional transmission and 3 GW of new gas generation by 2030. Jointly developing some 2 GW of generation with NextEra Energy will shorten development timelines, Frenzel said.
Attracting large load customers to Xcel’s service territory, which covers Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, will require not just speed of deployment but also “a significant pipeline of clean energy resources for us to execute on,” Van Abel said.
“We believe that these large customers are absolutely committed to [the] long-term sustainability of their own product,” Frenzel added. “Because of that, they’re highly interested in our regions of the country where, you know, I always say the wind blows and the sun shines … We’re gonna continue to be innovative; we’re gonna continue to be sustainable, and I think we’re working with a customer set that is aligned with us.”
The company has 2 GW of data centers contracted or under construction, and claims to have a potential pipeline of 20 GW. Company officials say they hope to sign contracts for another 6 GW of data center load by the end of 2027, Frenzel said.
In addition to the large load tariff proceedings, Xcel Energy is advancing four electric utility rate cases seeking more than $900 million in base rate increases. Decisions in the South Dakota and Minnesota rate cases are expected in the second and third quarters of this year, respectively, while the company anticipates a decision in New Mexico in the fourth quarter. The company is angling for a settlement in a Colorado rate case that should be resolved by the third quarter; ideally, a multi-year settlement would reduce the need to continue filing rate cases every year, Van Abel said.
The company recently settled a fifth rate case in North Dakota, which authorized a $27 million revenue increase, Van Abel said.
While most litigation tied to the 2021 Marshall Fire in Colorado was resolved via a $640 million settlement announced in September 2025, three plaintiffs continue to pursue wildfire claims in Colorado, according to company SEC filings. Xcel Energy has so far resolved 231 of 304 claims related to the 2024 Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas panhandle, committing to $397 million in settlements and bringing the company’s total estimated liability tied to that fire to $460 million, excluding another $40 million in legal costs. The company has $525 million in liability insurance coverage, Van Abel said.
Company leaders did not address an outstanding lawsuit filed in December 2025 by the Texas Attorney General’s Office seeking damages and civil penalties related to the Smokehouse Creek Fire. Xcel Energy agreed in February to a temporary injunction that requires utility pole inspections and replacements, among other measures.
Despite dry conditions in Colorado as the state enters its highest-risk wildfire season, Frenzel said Xcel Energy felt it had increased its situational awareness and its ability to respond rapidly to fire conditions — and to do so with fewer impacts to customers.
“Yes, we are at a low snowpack in Colorado this year in drier conditions,” he said. “We think with all the things we’ve done under the operational side, the situational awareness side, and the community engagement side [are] gonna lead us to have a high safe summer in Colorado.”