Editing Xcel Energy (section)

== History ==
<!-- [[New Century Energies]] redirects here. -->
Xcel Energy was built on three companies: Minneapolis-based [[Northern States Power Company]] (NSP), Denver-based Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), and Amarillo-based Southwestern Public Service (SPS). Southwestern Public Service Co. (SPS) dates its origins to 1904 and the Pecos Valley in New Mexico when Maynard Gunsell received an electricity franchise for the city of [[Roswell, New Mexico]] and its 2,000 residents. The financial strain of creating this new enterprise soon overwhelmed him and he sold the franchise to W.H. Gillenwater, who named his utility the Roswell Electric Light Co. He later sold the company to an investment firm in Cleveland, Ohio, which already owned the Roswell Gas Co.<ref name="Southwestern Public Service Company History">{{cite web |title=Southwestern Public Service Company History |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/southwestern-public-service-company-history/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116122941/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/southwestern-public-service-company-history/ |archive-date=2014-01-16 |access-date=17 October 2012 |publisher=Funding Universe}}</ref>

Northern States Power Company's timeline begins with the organization of the Washington County Light & Power Co. in 1909. When H. M. Byllesby began building his utility holding company across the Northwestern region of the US, he renamed it the Consumers Power Co. in 1910 and which was renamed the Northern States Power Co. in 1916.<ref name="Minnesota Historical Society">{{cite web|title=NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY (MINNESOTA)|url=http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00230.xml|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|access-date=12 February 2013}}</ref> While the bulk of NSP's territory grew across central and southern Minnesota (starting from the Twin Cities), it acquired territory in North Dakota (centering on Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot) and extended southwest into South Dakota (centering on Sioux Falls). NSP's system also extended east into Wisconsin, but because of utility ownership laws in that state, it was operated as an entity separate from the rest of the company.

Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) was formed in 1923 to provide an electric generating station for the Denver area.  By 1924, it had acquired most of the electric companies in northern and central Colorado. Originally a subsidiary of [[Citgo|Cities Service Company]], it became an independent autonomous operation in November 1943.<ref>[http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/public-service-company-of-colorado-history/ Public Service Company of Colorado history]</ref>  By this time, it served 80 percent of Colorado's gas and electricity needs. As demand for energy continued to grow, so did PSCo.  Eventually, the company merged with SPS to form '''New Century Energies''' ('''NCE''') in 1995.<ref name="New-Century-Energies-Dec-1995-S-4">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/885/0000950130-95-002687.pdf |title=New Century Energies, Form S-4, Filing Date Dec 13, 1995 |website=SECDatabase.com |access-date =May 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0458-3035| agency = Associated Press| title = Colorado Power Company to Merge With Texas Utility| work = Los Angeles Times| access-date = 2015-02-27| date = 1995-08-24| url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-24-fi-38566-story.html}}</ref>

Northern States Power and [[Wisconsin Energy Corporation]] had planned to merge into a new outfit that was to be called Primergy<ref name="Northern-States-Power-Company-May-1995-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/2297/0000898822-95-000046.pdf |title=Northern States Power Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 3, 1995 |website=SECDatabase.com |access-date =May 5, 2018}}</ref> - but in 1997, the merger fell through because of the time it was taking to gain the required approvals from state and federal agencies.<ref name="Northern-States-Power-Company-May-1997-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1654/7290397000007/filing-main.htm |title=Northern States Power Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 19, 1997 |website=SECDatabase.com |access-date =May 5, 2018}}</ref> After the failed Primergy merger, NSP (both the Minnesota and Wisconsin companies) merged with New Century Energies to form Xcel Energy.<ref name="Xcel-Energy-Jun-1999-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1327/7290399000013/filing-main.htm |title=Xcel Energy, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 29, 1999 |website=SECDatabase.com |access-date =May 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=BERGQUIST|first=LEE|title=Plug pulled on Primergy Firms call off merger, blame delays|newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|date=17 May 1997|quote=Wisconsin Energy Corp. and Northern States Power Co. called off their $6 billion merger late Friday afternoon - two days after federal regulators raised major concerns about the deal.}}</ref>  In 2005, Xcel sold Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power to [[Black Hills Corporation]].<ref name="Xcel-Energy-Feb-2005-35-CERT">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1995/104746905002569/filing-main.htm |title=Xcel Energy, Form 35-CERT, Filing Date Feb 7, 2005 |website=SECDatabase.com |access-date =May 5, 2018}}</ref>  Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power had been a subsidiary of PSCo since the 1920s, and had become an operating company of NCE after the merger with SPS.

In December 2018, Xcel Energy became the first major US utility to pledge to go [[Renewable energy|carbon-free]], aiming for 80% [[Carbon neutrality|carbon reduction]] by 2030, and 100% reduction by 2050.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/major-us-utility-company-just-pledged-go-carbon-free-first-time-american-history.html|title=A major U.S. utility company just pledged to go carbon-free for the first time in American history|last=Strauss|first=Ileana|date=December 5, 2018|website=TreeHugger|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cpr.org/news/story/xcel-energy-vows-100-percent-carbon-reduction-by-2050|title=Xcel Energy Vows 100 Percent Carbon Reduction By 2050|last=Hood|first=Grace|website=Colorado Public Radio|date=December 4, 2018 |access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref>

Utility industry magazine ''Utility Dive'' awarded Xcel Energy its 2018 "Utility of the Year" award for its plans for add 12 [[wind farms]], its project with [[Google]] to develop new ways for customers to personalize [[energy management]], and its plan to retire 50 percent of its coal-powered capacity by 2026 (and replacing it with a combination of renewable energy, efficiency, and natural gas).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.utilitydive.com/news/xcel-energy-utility-of-the-year/540851/|title=Utility of the Year: Xcel Energy|website=Utility Dive|access-date=2018-12-28}}</ref>

On May 20, 2019, Xcel Energy announced its intent to close all of its remaining [[Coal-fired power station|coal-fired plants]] in Minnesota by 2030 while compensating by increasing solar production capacity by 1,400%. It also declared its plans to continue operating its [[Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant|Monticello nuclear plant]] near [[Monticello, Minnesota]], until at least 2040.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/05/20/xcel-energy-coal-nuclear-power-wind-solar-minnesota|title=Xcel's New Plan: Coal-Free by 2030, Nuclear until 2040|website=MPR News|date=20 May 2019 |access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2019/05/28/minnesota-energy-pie-transition|title=Minnesota's Departure from Coal Will Mean More Natural Gas, Nuclear|website=MPR News|date=28 May 2019 |access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref>