Xcel Energy local spending, fee payments support area economy

Xcel Energy not only powers the regional economy with clean, reliable electricity, but also supports local jobs and economic development through hundreds of millions of dollars spent with Texas and New Mexico businesses, said a news release issued Wednesday.

According to the release, in 2021, Xcel Energy purchased almost $745 million in goods and services from businesses in Texas and New Mexico, providing a shot in the arm for local economies bouncing back from the effects of the pandemic. In addition, it was a significant increase over the amount spent with regional businesses in 2020.

“Local business is vital to the work we do on a daily basis, and the dollars we pump into the economy through trade with businesses — big and small — in our communities support many local jobs, both inside and outside of our company,” said Adrian J. Rodriguez, president, Xcel Energy – New Mexico, Texas. “We couldn’t do it without help from these important business partners.”

Area communities also benefit from the property tax revenue generated by Xcel Energy’s network of electrical facilities across the region, the release noted. In 2021, Xcel Energy paid $62 million in property taxes to local governments in the Panhandle and South Plains region of Texas and in eastern and southeastern New Mexico, and the utility company paid $22.3 million in franchise fees to municipal and county governments, providing a reliable stream of revenue to fund essential services across the area.

Xcel Energy also works closely with local governments, area economic development organizations and chambers of commerce to support the retention of existing businesses and the attraction of new jobs to the area. In 2021, the company was involved in development projects totaling $90 million in capital investments. Xcel Energy also provides an online inventory of the area’s most marketable industrial sites and buildings at economicdevelopment.xcelenergy.com. Site consultants use this inventory to find information on area business and industrial parks, including data on power capacity and infrastructure, access to transportation and communication networks, and other criteria designed to increase speed to market.

“It’s important to us personally and as employees of the region’s leading energy company that the communities we serve thrive economically,” Rodriguez said. “Our team’s roots run deep here, and we’ll be here for many years to come.”

Xcel Energy operates in 96 towns and cities in a 52,000-square-mile service area that includes the Panhandle and South Plains regions of Texas and a large portion of eastern New Mexico. The company’s high-voltage transmission network stretches from southwestern Kansas through the Texas Panhandle and South Plains into southeastern New Mexico. The company employs 1,455 full-time workers in Texas and 256 in New Mexico.