Perhaps Xcel could “help” by cutting back on profits

Re: “Xcel bills have never been higher but we are here to help,” Feb. 12 commentary

Robert Kenney, I am glad to hear that Xcel Energy understands the impact of the tremendous increase in energy costs we are experiencing ( my bill tripled from October to December) and your assurance that you are actively addressing the situation in order to ease our burden. You highlight numerous ways your company is working to support those who struggle to pay their bills. You offer longer- term opportunities for us to reduce our energy consumption, and thus our expense, over time. And yes, there are factors out of your and our control ( oil and gas prices, Putin’s war, inflation). I fully recognize the complexity of the energy delivery system you oversee.

Missing for me is the financial context of the profits for Xcel to do business. Xcel Energy’s annual gross profit for 2022 was $ 8.351B, a 10.19% increase from 2021. What profit dividends/ increases did your major shareholders receive during that period? Again, I recognize that Xcel, like all major corporations, must have shareholder support and annual profits to remain solvent and successful.

But is there an acceptable profit margin that allows Xcel to do so while also demonstrating that Xcel and its shareholders share in the current financial burden and therefore want to do their part to minimize that burden — we have no choice, after all, but to do business with you. It could make your offer that you are here to help more meaningful and sincere. — Angie Panos, Denver

I had to laugh when I read Kenney’s accounting of how Xcel energy is “here to help” with the ridiculous increase in the amount his company is charging us. I’ll repeat that, the ridiculous amount his company is charging us each month to heat our homes, turn our lights on, and cook our food.

What struck me as odd was that his idea of helping his “customers” in no way mentioned reducing the prices they are charging us while making huge profits for the company. He mentioned all the help people can get from organizations other than Xcel to save money on their energy bills.

Question for you, Kenney, your company is the one charging us for that energy, so what kind of PR blad- de- blah are you trying to pull off here? Do you think that your explanation of why your company has increased our power bills higher than ever is going to make people feel good about the huge profits you’re reaping? You say that you hear us and will “continue working hard every day to earn your trust and be your preferred energy provider.” What a laughable statement! Do we really have a choice for an energy provider? If we did, mine would not be Xcel. This begs the question, why is one for- profit company allowed to have a monopoly on our power source?

— Dawn Dezellem, Denver