Solid financial performance
For the 17th consecutive year, we met or
exceeded our earnings guidance, and we
increased our dividend for the 18th consecutive
year. We delivered earnings of $2.96 per share,
within the upper half of our initial guidance
range. We increased our dividend 6.4%, or 11
cents per share in 2021, which is in line with our
5% to 7% goal. Our stock continues to trade at
a premium and has outperformed our peer group
for the three-, five- and ten-year periods.
Our robust five-year, $26 billion capital investment
plan will provide significant customer value
and drive regulated rate base growth of 6.5%.
And, we’ve identified additional investment
opportunities in that timeframe for an incremental
capital investment of $1.5 to $2.5 billion, which
would increase our growth rate to 7.4%.
Clean energy leadership
In November, we announced a clean energy
vision for our natural gas distribution business.
Our vision reduces greenhouse gas emissions
25% from 2020 levels by 2030, including net-
zero methane emissions from our distribution
system, and delivers net-zero natural gas service
to customers by 2050. (See story on page 14).
Our natural gas vision builds on our previously
announced electric goals for reducing carbon
emissions 80% by 2030 and producing 100%
carbon-free electricity by 2050. We also plan
to use our increasingly clean product to power
1.5 million electric vehicles in our states by the
end of the decade, resulting in additional carbon
reduction, future sales growth, and customer
fuel savings. Together, these commitments
represent a comprehensive clean energy
vision, making Xcel Energy the first U.S. energy
provider to set aggressive clean energy goals
across all the ways our customers use energy:
electricity, transportation, and heating. And we
are well on our way to achieving that vision.
Delivering at critical times
We never take for granted the trust we have
earned to power millions of homes and
businesses all day, every day, particularly during
extreme weather. In 2021, there were two
significant events that impacted our service
territory — Winter Storm Uri in Texas and the
Marshall Wildfire in Colorado. These two natural
disasters challenged our teams to deliver in the
most arduous conditions. And as always, we
rose to the challenge.
Historic cold temperatures during Winter Storm
Uri froze natural gas wells throughout Texas
and Oklahoma, creating natural gas supply
constraints and price spikes across the country.
At the same time, the Texas electric system saw
generation equipment failures caused by the
cold, which left millions without power or heat.
Our plants and equipment in the Southwest
are winterized for extreme temperatures and
performed very well during the event, despite
widespread failures of other generating assets.
Despite our employees operating our gas
distribution system extremely capably during the
10-day record-setting cold period, we were not
immune from the sudden, extraordinary increase
in natural gas prices that went along with Winter
Storm Uri. We incurred $925 million of additional
fuel costs that we are working with regulators to
recover while helping customers manage costs.
Following a particularly dry fourth quarter, on
Dec. 30, Colorado faced an intense windstorm
that packed 110 mph winds and fueled the
devastating Marshall Wildfire. The Boulder County
fires destroyed more than 1,200 homes and
businesses in the area, and partially or totally
destroyed the homes of 17 of our own employees.
Hundreds of employees, contractors and mutual
aid crews were on the scene as soon as it was
safe and worked around the clock to get service
restored to the impacted communities.
These extreme weather events reinforce the
need for continued investment in system
resiliency, such as our approved wildfire
mitigation program, to protect communities
from the growing impacts of climate change.
Constructive regulatory outcomes
We reached constructive rate case settlements
in six states last year. In Colorado, we also
reached constructive settlements for Winter
Storm Uri cost recovery, our electric resource
plan and our Power Pathway transmission
project, a nearly $2 billion investment necessary
to enable future renewable generation assets.
The New Mexico commission approved our
Transportation Electrification Plan, and we
launched several commercial and residential
programs to support electric vehicle adoption
in Colorado as part of our approved, industry-
leading Transportation Electrification Plan. (See
story on pages 10-11). In February 2022, the
New Mexico commission also approved our
electric rate case settlement.