Minnesota regulators have ordered Xcel Energy to issue a multimillion-dollar customer refund as a result of its workers accidentally severing underground cables, which shut down the Prairie Island nuclear power plant for months.
Xcel wanted its customers to pick up the tab for buying substitute power as the facility was fixed, arguing that the company was following standard practices during a maintenance project despite acknowledging it drilled in an area without first using ground radar that would have shown the cables.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) disagreed and instead placed the cost on Xcel shareholders.
“There was imprudent oversight that caused the outages,” said Commissioner Valerie Means. “The ratepayers should not have to pay for that. It’s simple.”
Commissioner Hwikwon Ham compared it to the time he used the “call before you dig” hotline before planting in his yard. “They marked everywhere, all around the house,” he said. “I don’t see why Xcel wasn’t able to think the way those guys are doing it.”
The PUC did not determine the exact refund amount. The five-member board instead asked an administrative law judge to calculate the cost of the outage and replacement power.
The decision is nevertheless a loss for Xcel, which has stressed the company’s track record of safe operation at Prairie Island. That includes two 700-day runs of uninterrupted operations in recent years through heat waves and extreme cold, the company said.
“Our plant has been an industry leader in terms of performance for five years or so looking back,” said Ryan Long, Xcel’s president in Minnesota. “We think that above average performance is really relevant to considering the overall prudence of our operations at the plant.”