XCEL ENERGY INC (XEL) Business

ITEM 1 — BUSINESS

Definitions of Abbreviations

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Where to Find More Information

Xcel Energy’s website address is www.xcelenergy.com. Xcel Energy makes available through its website, free of charge, its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.

The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically at http://www.sec.gov. The information on Xcel Energy’s website is not a part of, or incorporated by reference in, this annual report on Form 10-K. Xcel Energy intends to make future announcements regarding Company developments and financial performance through its website, www.xcelenergy.com, as well as through press releases, filings with the SEC, conference calls and webcasts.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical statements contained in this report, the matters discussed herein are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements, including those relating to 2026 EPS guidance, long-term EPS and dividend growth rate objectives, future sales, future expenses, future tax rates, future operating performance, estimated base capital expenditures and financing plans, projected capital additions and forecasted annual revenue requirements with respect to rider filings, expected rate increases to customers, expectations and intentions regarding regulatory proceedings, expected pension contributions and expected impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows of interest rate changes, increased credit exposure, and legal proceeding outcomes, as well as assumptions and other statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “outlook,” “plan,” “project,” “possible,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions. Actual results may vary materially. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking information. The following factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2025 (including risk factors listed from time to time by Xcel Energy Inc. in reports filed with the SEC, including “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: operational safety, including our nuclear generation facilities and other utility operations; successful long-term operational planning; risks associated with wildfires; commodity risks associated with energy markets and production; rising energy prices and fuel costs; qualified employee workforce and third-party contractor factors; reputational impacts of actions by employees, directors, or third-parties; our ability to recover costs and our subsidiaries’ ability to recover costs from customers; risks associated with the growth in large load customers; changes in regulation; reductions in our credit ratings and the cost of maintaining certain contractual relationships; general economic conditions, including recessionary conditions, inflation rates, monetary fluctuations, supply chain constraints and their impact on capital expenditures and/or the ability of Xcel Energy Inc. and its subsidiaries to obtain financing on favorable terms; availability or cost of capital; our customers’ and counterparties’ ability to pay their debts to us; assumptions and costs relating to funding our employee benefit plans and health care benefits; our subsidiaries’ ability to make dividend payments; tax laws; uncertainty regarding epidemics; effects of geopolitical events, including war and acts of terrorism; cybersecurity threats and data security breaches; seasonal weather patterns; changes in environmental laws and regulations; climate change and other weather events; natural disaster and resource depletion, including compliance with any accompanying legislative and regulatory changes; costs of potential regulatory penalties and wildfire damages in excess of liability insurance coverage; regulatory changes and/or limitations related to the use of natural gas as an energy source; challenging labor market conditions and our ability to attract and retain a qualified workforce; and our ability to execute on our strategies or achieve expectations related to environmental, social and governance matters including as a result of evolving legal, regulatory and other standards, processes, and assumptions, the pace of scientific and technological developments, increased costs, the availability of requisite financing, and changes in carbon markets.

Overview

Xcel Energy (the “Company”) is a major U.S. regulated electric and natural gas delivery company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota (incorporated in Minnesota in 1909). The Company serves customers in eight states, including portions of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to approximately 3.9 million electric customers and 2.2 million natural gas customers through four utility subsidiaries (NSP-Minnesota, NSP-Wisconsin, PSCo and SPS). Along with the utility subsidiaries, the transmission-only subsidiaries, WYCO (a joint venture formed with CIG to develop and lease natural gas pipelines and storage facilities) and WGI (an interstate natural gas pipeline company) comprise the regulated utility operations. The Company’s nonregulated subsidiaries include Eloigne, Capital Services, Venture Holdings and Nicollet Project Holdings.

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Service Territory

Strategy

Xcel Energy’s vision is to be the preferred and trusted provider of the energy our customers need. We will deliver on this vision while offering a competitive total return to our shareholders. Our mission is to make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day.

We execute on our vision and mission through three strategic priorities.

Our employees are guided by four corporate values: Connected, Committed, Safe and Trustworthy.

Our values, culture and Code of Conduct serve as the foundation upon which Xcel Energy’s employees, Board of Directors, contractors and suppliers approach their work in delivering on our three strategic priorities.

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OUR CUSTOMERS

Xcel Energy is leading the ongoing clean energy transition while remaining focused on what matters most: providing reliable, affordable energy that meets the increasing demands of our customers as they electrify more parts of their lives. Customer affordability remains central to our strategy. Through disciplined infrastructure investment and the advantages of our geographic footprint, we continue to deliver some of the lowest energy bills in the nation.

Xcel Energy has invested more than $2 billion over the past decade in a portfolio of renewable and conservation programs that provide customers with clean energy options and help keep bills low. New demand remains robust in our territories as we fuel the rapid growth from AI and data centers, industrial electrification and electric vehicle adoption. As such, we are transforming and expanding our electric grid to accommodate this load growth, and supporting our expanded portfolio of renewable energy and distributed energy resources.

Since 2020, our lean operating program has generated $1.5 billion of cumulative savings for our customers, while improving operating outcomes and reducing enterprise risk. At the same time, our Steel for Fuel strategy has saved customers nearly $6 billion since 2017 in avoided fuel costs and PTCs.

In turn, our residential customers in Colorado have the lowest share of wallet out of all 50 states, and average bills in our other states occupy 5 of the next 11 spots. Based on available EIA data, the five-year average residential electric and natural gas bills for an Xcel Energy customer are 28% and 12% below the national average. We continue to support critical programs to help our customers who may need assistance with their energy bills and reached nearly 200,000 customers and provided over $180 million in funding in 2025.

Going forward, our goal is to enable the clean energy transition while keeping long-term customer bill growth at inflation through initiatives including conservation programs, O&M cost control, our One Xcel Energy Way lean management initiative, advanced operational technologies and our Steel for Fuel program.

Investing in our communities means supporting a wide array of industries that strengthen local economies. In 2025, Xcel Energy initiated 15 economic development projects across our communities. Collectively, these projects are projected to generate more than $7 billion in capital investments and nearly 1,400 jobs. Nearly 53% of our supply chain spend was local and we spent nearly $1 billion with small or diverse suppliers.

In 2025, the Xcel Energy Foundation contributed $5 million in grant funding nearly 400 nonprofit organizations. Through our 2025 Power Your Purpose Giving Campaign, Xcel Energy employees, contractors and retirees donated nearly $3 million to over 1,400 nonprofit and community organizations – exceeding our fundraising goal. Combined with the Xcel Energy Foundation match to local United Way chapters, this campaign raised over $5 million for our communities. In 2025, employees volunteered nearly 100,000 hours in their communities. Our annual Day of Service attracted over 2,900 volunteers who committed nearly 8,900 hours at over 100 nonprofit projects across the company’s service footprint.

OUR PEOPLE

Champion Safety

Continuously elevating the quality and safety of the workplace is a top priority. We are considered a leader in safety for our Safety Always approach, focused on eliminating life-altering injuries through a trusted, transparent culture and the use of critical controls. All employees have “stop work authority” and are expected to keep each other, our customers and the public safe. Employees are encouraged to speak up, share experiences and learn from events to help protect themselves, their coworkers and the public.

The Board of Directors has oversight for employee and public safety through the Operations, Nuclear, Environmental and Safety committee, which is tied to annual incentive compensation.

Cultivate an Inclusive, Best-in-Class Workforce

We aim to create an inclusive work culture where employees are empowered to create innovative solutions, everyone is respected and there is a collective sense of belonging. We are building a workforce that reflects the broad range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives within our communities and among our customers. This starts with our Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors has oversight for workforce strategy, through the Governance, Compensation and Nominating Committee, including our inclusion initiatives, employee safety and inclusion KPIs tied to annual incentive compensation.

In 2025, a total of 70% of annual incentive compensation was tied to safety, system reliability and inclusion metrics.

Management evaluates compensation and benefits to maintain a market-competitive, performance-based, shareholder-aligned total rewards package that supports our ability to attract, engage and retain a talented workforce.

We partner with educational and community organizations to recruit employees who reflect the communities we serve and live our values. Xcel Energy had 11,534 full-time employees and workforce demographics as of December 2025 were as follows:

Xcel Energy respects employees’ freedom of association and their right to collectively organize. As of Dec. 31, 2025, approximately 44% of our employees (5,036) were covered by collective bargaining agreements.

We are committed to the advancement and protection of human rights, consistent with U.S. human rights laws and the general principles in the International Labour Organization Conventions.

Annual Code of Conduct training is required for all employees and the Board of Directors. We do not tolerate Code of Conduct violations or other unacceptable behaviors. We expect and offer employees multiple avenues to raise concerns or report wrong-doing and do not permit any retaliation.

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OUR PERFORMANCE

Deliver a Competitive Total Return to Investors

Successful strategy execution, along with our disciplined approach to growth, operations and management of environmental, social and governance issues, positions us to continue delivering a competitive TSR.

We have consistently achieved our financial objectives, meeting or exceeding our initial ongoing earnings guidance range for 21 consecutive years and delivering dividend growth for 23 consecutive years.

Leading the Clean Energy Transition

Xcel Energy is committed to providing our customers with safe, reliable service at the lowest cost possible, while leading the clean energy transition. Over the next five years, we plan to make $60 billion of capital investments to improve reliability, resiliency and sustainability and support demand growth across our system. Significant investment in our transmission and distribution systems is essential to ensure resiliency and reliability for customers, we have approximately $29 billion in our 2026 - 2030 capital plan focused specifically on this.

Our current sustainability commitments are summarized as follows:

See Item 1A for risks and uncertainties related to strategic and sustainability goals and objectives.

Zero-Carbon Electricity by 2050

Xcel Energy’s operating footprint includes some of the best wind and solar resources in the country, providing for higher capacity factors and lower electricity costs.

Xcel Energy’s wind capacity is now approximately 11,000 MW, including nearly 4,500 MW of owned wind. In 2025, we completed the second phase of our Sherco Solar project in Minnesota, with a third phase coming online in 2026, making it the largest solar facility in the upper Midwest. We are also proposing to add a fourth phase, which would bring the facility’s total generating capacity to 910 MW by 2029, providing enough clean energy to power 190,000 homes across the upper Midwest.

In our base 2026 - 2030 capital investment plan, we have ~9,500 MW of new and repowered wind, solar, and battery storage resources included and ~3,000 MW of new natural gas generation to ensure reliability.

Through 2025, we reduced carbon emissions from generation serving customers by an estimated 58% (from 2005 levels) and remain on track to fully exit coal by the end of 2030.

Natural Gas Use in Buildings – Net-Zero GHG by 2050

Xcel Energy continues on the path to achieve our 2050 goal to provide net-zero natural gas service to our customers. Our net-zero natural gas frameworks include the following priorities:

•Operating a safe, reliable gas system with net-zero methane gas service by 2030.

•Optimizing the energy system with voluntary electrification-first approaches for new growth.

•Providing customers with a portfolio of energy solutions while ensuring we meet requirements of our regulators.

Electrification of the Transportation Sector

We are also helping reduce carbon emissions in other sectors, including transportation. By 2035, Xcel Energy aims to enable the charging infrastructure for 1.5 million electric vehicles across the areas we serve. We have approved clean transportation programs and plans in Colorado, New Mexico, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Wildfire Resiliency and Mitigation

Protecting our customers and our system from the threats of extreme weather is a top priority for Xcel Energy. In 2025, we received commission approvals from both the Colorado and Texas commissions for our wildfire mitigation and system resiliency plans, as well as have public facing wildfire mitigation plans in each of our states. This includes investments in advanced camera and weather station technologies, enhanced powerline safety setting installations, pole inspections and replacements, and operational measures such as wildfire safety operations and public safety power shutoffs.

In 2025, supportive utility wildfire legislation also passed in Texas and North Dakota, and we continue to explore similar structures in our other states.

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Utility Subsidiaries

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Operations Overview

Utility operations are generally conducted as either electric or gas utilities in our four utility subsidiaries.

Electric Operations

Electric operations consist of energy supply, generation, transmission and distribution activities across all four utility subsidiaries. Xcel Energy had electric sales volume of 109,401 (millions of KWh), 3.9 million customers and electric revenues of $12,160 million for 2025.

Retail Sales/Revenue Statistics (a)

(a)See Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements for further information.

Owned and Purchased Energy Generation — 2025

Electric Energy Sources

Total electric energy generation by source for the year ended Dec. 31:

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Carbon-Free

Xcel Energy’s carbon-free energy portfolio includes wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass and solar power from both owned generation facilities and PPAs. Carbon-free percentages will vary year-over-year based on system additions, commodity costs, weather, system demand and transmission constraints.

See Item 2 — Properties for further information.

Wind

Wind capacity is shown as net maximum capacity. Net maximum capacity is attainable only when wind conditions are sufficiently available.

Owned — Owned and operated wind farms with corresponding capacity:

PPAs — Number of PPAs with capacity range:

PPAs — Contracted wind capacity (MW) for PPAs:

Average Cost — Average cost per MWh of wind energy from owned generation and existing PPAs:

(a)Includes the impact of PTCs.

Solar

Owned — Owned and operated solar projects with corresponding capacity:

PPAs — Solar PPAs capacity by type:

(a)Includes battery storage capacity of 225 MW.

Average Cost — Average cost per MWh of solar energy under existing distributed and utility-scale generation PPAs:

(a)Average cost per MWh includes projects placed in service in 2024. For projects placed in service in 2025, cost per MWh will be available after a full year of operations.

(b)Includes the impact of PTCs.

Nuclear

Xcel Energy has two nuclear plants with approximately 1,700 MW of total 2025 net summer dependable capacity that safely and reliably generates carbon free electricity for the NSP System. Xcel Energy secures contracts for uranium concentrates, uranium conversion, uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication to operate its nuclear plants. We use varying contract lengths as well as multiple producers for uranium concentrates, conversion services and enrichment services to minimize potential impacts caused by supply interruptions due to geographical and world political issues.

Nuclear Fuel Cost — Delivered cost per MMBtu of nuclear fuel consumed for owned electric generation and the percentage of total fuel requirements (nuclear, natural gas and coal):

Other — Xcel Energy’s other carbon-free energy portfolio includes hydro from owned generating facilities.

See Item 2 — Properties for further information.

Fossil Fuel

Xcel Energy’s fossil fuel energy portfolio includes coal and natural gas power from both owned generating facilities and PPAs.

Coal

Xcel Energy owned and operated coal units with approximately 4,500 MW of total 2025 net summer dependable capacity. This amount includes the coal unit at Pawnee, which is in the process of being converted to natural gas (net summer dependable capacity of 505 MW) and approximately 100 MW derived from RDF and wood fuel sources.

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Xcel Energy has plans to retire or convert to natural gas all of its existing coal generation by the end of 2030. Approved early coal plant retirements:

(a)In December 2025, the DOE issued an emergency order pursuant to section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act to Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and other co-owners – including Xcel Energy – directing the co-owners to take all measures necessary to ensure that Unit 1 at the Craig Station in Craig, Colorado is available to operate. This order is in effect from December 30, 2025 through March 30, 2026. PSCo is working with Tri-State and the other partners in complying with the order.

(b)Based on Xcel Energy’s ownership interest.

(c)In December 2025, the CPUC issued a decision approving a variance that allows for the continued operation of Comanche Unit 2 in 2026, past the previously established retirement date of Dec. 31, 2025. The decision was issued in response to a joint petition filed by the trial staff of the CPUC, the Colorado Energy Office, the Colorado Office of the Utility Consumer Advocate, and PSCo seeking to modify the Comanche Unit 2 retirement date. PSCo also entered into an agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that establishes compliance obligations for continued operation of the unit through 2026.

Coal Fuel Cost — Delivered cost per MMBtu of coal consumed for owned electric generation and the percentage of fuel requirements (nuclear, natural gas and coal):

(a)Includes RDF and wood for the NSP System.

Natural Gas

Xcel Energy owned and operated natural gas plants with approximately 9,000 MW of total 2025 net summer dependable capacity.

Natural gas supplies, transportation and storage services for power plants are procured to provide an adequate supply of fuel. Remaining requirements are procured through a liquid spot market. Generally, natural gas supply contracts have variable pricing that is tied to natural gas indices. Natural gas supply and transportation agreements include obligations for the purchase and/or delivery of specified volumes or payments in lieu of delivery.

Natural Gas Cost — Delivered cost per MMBtu of natural gas consumed for owned electric generation and the percentage of total fuel requirements (nuclear, natural gas and coal):

Capacity and Demand

Uninterrupted system peak demand and occurrence date:

Transmission

Transmission lines deliver electricity at high voltages and over long distances from power sources to substations closer to customers. A strong transmission system ensures continued reliable and affordable service, ability to meet state and regional energy policy goals, and support for a diverse generation mix, including renewable energy. Xcel Energy owns approximately 115,000 conductor miles of transmission lines across its service territory.

See Item 2 - Properties for further information.

Distribution

Distribution lines allow electricity to travel at lower voltages from substations directly to customers. Xcel Energy has a vast distribution network, owning and operating approximately 225,000 conductor miles of distribution lines across our eight-state service territory.

See Item 2 - Properties for further information.

Natural Gas Operations

Natural gas operations consist of purchase, transportation and distribution of natural gas to end-use residential, C&I and transport customers in NSP-Minnesota, NSP-Wisconsin and PSCo. Xcel Energy had natural gas deliveries of 400,982 (thousands of MMBtu), 2.2 million customers and natural gas revenues of $2,452 million for 2025.

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Sales/Revenue Statistics (a)(b)

(a)See Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements for further information.

(b)Fluctuations in natural gas revenues associated with changes in natural gas sold and transported generally do not significantly impact earnings.

Capability and Demand

Natural gas supply requirements are categorized as firm or interruptible.

Maximum daily output (firm and interruptible) and occurrence date:

Natural Gas Supply and Cost

Xcel Energy seeks natural gas supply, transportation and storage alternatives to yield a diversified portfolio, which increases flexibility and decreases interruption, financial risks and customer rates. In addition, the utility subsidiaries conduct natural gas price hedging activities approved by their states’ commissions.

Average delivered cost per MMBtu of natural gas for regulated retail distribution:

NSP-Minnesota, NSP-Wisconsin and PSCo have natural gas supply transportation and storage agreements that include obligations for purchase and/or delivery of specified volumes or to make payments in lieu of delivery.

General

General Economic Conditions

Economic conditions may have a material impact on Xcel Energy’s operating results. Management cannot predict the impact of fluctuating energy or commodity prices, pandemics, terrorist activity, war or the threat of war. We could experience a material impact to our results of operations, future growth or ability to raise capital resulting from a sustained general slowdown in economic growth or a significant increase in interest rates or inflation.

Seasonality

Demand for electric power and natural gas is affected by seasonal differences in the weather. In general, peak sales of electricity occur in the summer months and peak sales of natural gas occur in the winter months. As a result, the overall operating results may fluctuate substantially on a seasonal basis. Additionally, Xcel Energy’s operations have historically generated less revenues and income when weather conditions are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Sales true-up and decoupling mechanisms mitigate the impacts of weather in certain jurisdictions.

Competition

Xcel Energy is subject to public policies that promote competition and development of energy markets. Xcel Energy’s industrial and large commercial customers have the ability to generate their own electricity. In addition, customers may have the option of substituting other fuels or relocating their facilities to a lower cost region.

Customers have the opportunity to supply their own power with distributed generation including solar generation and can currently avoid paying for most of the fixed production, transmission and distribution costs incurred to serve them in most jurisdictions.

Several states have incentives for the development of rooftop solar, community solar gardens and other distributed energy resources. Distributed generating resources are potential competitors to Xcel Energy’s electric service business with these incentives and federal tax subsidies.

The FERC has continued to promote competitive wholesale markets through open access transmission and other means. Xcel Energy’s wholesale customers can purchase energy from other generation resources and transmission services from other service providers to serve their native load.

FERC Order No. 1000 established competition for ownership of certain new electric transmission facilities under Federal regulations. Some states have state laws that allow the incumbent a Right of First Refusal to own these transmission facilities.

FERC Order 2222 requires that RTO and ISO markets allow participation of aggregations of distributed energy resources. This order is expected to incentivize distributed energy resource adoption, however implementation is expected to vary by RTO/ISO and the near, medium, and long-term impacts of Order 2222 remain unclear.

Xcel Energy Inc.’s utility subsidiaries have franchise agreements with cities subject to periodic renewal; however, a city could seek alternative means to access electric power or gas, such as municipalization. No municipalization activities are occurring presently.

While each utility subsidiary faces these challenges, Xcel Energy believes their rates and services are competitive with alternatives currently available.

Governmental Regulations

Public Utility Regulation

See Item 7 for discussion of public utility regulation.

Environmental Regulation

Our facilities are regulated by federal and state agencies that have jurisdiction over air emissions, water quality, wastewater discharges, solid and hazardous wastes or substances. Certain Xcel Energy activities require registrations, permits, licenses, inspections and approvals from these agencies.

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Xcel Energy has received necessary authorizations for the construction and continued operation of its generation, transmission and distribution systems. Our facilities strive to operate in compliance with applicable environmental standards and related monitoring and reporting requirements.

There are significant environmental regulations to encourage use of clean energy technologies and regulate emissions of GHGs. We have undertaken numerous initiatives to meet current requirements and prepare for potential future regulations, reduce GHG emissions and respond to state renewable and energy efficiency goals. Future environmental regulations may result in substantial costs. However, costs to comply with past environmental regulations have largely been recoverable through rates.

Emerging Environmental Regulation

Throughout 2025, the EPA has announced various regulatory actions addressing a wide range of environmental regulations. Xcel Energy will continue to monitor these proposed rules as they move toward final action. Additionally, any other amendments and changes to rules will be evaluated as proposed by the EPA.

Clean Air Act

Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Regulations — In April 2024, the EPA published final rules addressing control of CO2 emissions from the power sector. The rules regulate new natural gas generating units and emission guidelines for existing coal and certain natural gas generation.

Based on current estimates and assumptions, Xcel Energy has determined that due to scheduled plant retirements, there is minimal financial or operational impact associated with these requirements and believes that the cost of these initiatives or replacement generation would be recoverable through rates based on prior state commission practices.

In June 2025, the EPA proposed to repeal these and all other GHG emissions standards for the power sector. In the alternative, the EPA proposed to repeal a narrower subset of the 2024 regulations.

In February 2026, the EPA issued a final rule repealing the 2009 Endangerment Finding and associated regulations addressing GHG emissions from the transportation sector under the Clean Air Act. Xcel Energy will monitor any additional proposed rules and evaluate the impacts of any final rule on the utility sector.

Waste-to-Energy Air Regulations — In January 2024, the EPA proposed air regulations addressing new and existing large municipal waste combustors. The proposed rules lower current emission standards for certain pollutants and would require installation of new pollution controls and/or more intense use of existing pollution controls at French Island Generating Station, Red Wing Generating Plant and Wilmarth Generating Plant. Until final rules are issued, it is not certain what the impact will be on Xcel Energy. Xcel Energy believes that the cost of these initiatives or replacement generation would be recoverable through rates based on prior state commission practices.

Regional Haze — In July 2025, the EPA proposed to partially approve and partially disapprove the 2022 Colorado SIP revision implementing the Regional Haze rule in Colorado. The proposal sought to remove mandatory retirement dates as enforceable provisions in the SIP.

In January 2026, the EPA issued a final rule fully disapproving the 2022 Colorado SIP revision, thereby removing the mandatory retirement dates. The removal of the retirement dates from a federally approved SIP would only impact whether the SIP provisions become federally enforceable. Colorado has a state regulation that reflects the SIP requirements, including retirement dates for Cherokee Unit 4, Comanche Unit 2, Craig Units 1 and 2, and Hayden Units 1 and 2 at a state level and would require amendment to modify or remove retirement dates.

Emerging Contaminants of Concern

PFAS are man-made chemicals that are widely used in consumer products and can persist and bio-accumulate in the environment. Xcel Energy does not manufacture PFAS, but because PFAS are so ubiquitous in products and the environment, it may impact our operations.

In June 2024, the EPA finalized a rule that designated certain PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA. In July 2024, the EPA finalized another rule that set enforceable drinking water standards for certain PFAS.

Potential costs for these rules and any additional proposed regulations related to PFAS are uncertain and will be determined on a site specific basis where applicable. If costs are incurred, Xcel Energy believes the costs will be recoverable through rates based on prior state commission practices.

Effluent Limitation Guidelines

In April 2024, the EPA published final rules under the Clean Water Act, setting Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for steam generating coal plants. This rule establishes more stringent wastewater discharge standards for bottom ash transport water, flue-gas desulfurization wastewater, and combustion residuals leachate from steam electric power plants, particularly coal-fired power plants. Based on current estimates and assumptions, Xcel Energy has determined that there is minimal financial or operational impact associated with these requirements and that any costs would be recoverable through rates based on prior state commission practices.

Environmental Costs

Environmental costs include amounts for nuclear plant decommissioning and payments for storage of spent nuclear fuel, disposal of hazardous materials and waste, remediation of contaminated sites, monitoring of discharges to the environment and compliance with laws and permits with respect to emissions.

Costs charged to operating expenses for spent nuclear fuel disposal, environmental monitoring and remediation and disposal of hazardous materials and waste and depreciation of previously incurred capital expenditures for environmental improvements were approximately:

•$280 million in 2025.

•$290 million in 2024.

•$275 million in 2023.

Average annual expense of approximately $295 million from 2026 – 2030 is estimated for similar costs. The precise timing and amount of environmental costs, including those for site remediation and disposal of hazardous materials, are unknown. Additionally, the extent to which environmental costs will be recovered through rates may fluctuate.

Capital expenditures for environmental improvements were approximately:

•$35 million in 2025.

•$25 million in 2024.

•$20 million in 2023.

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Certain previously collected nuclear storage costs for the federal nuclear waste program are reimbursed to customers by the federal government as a result of a settlement we pursued regarding the government’s failure to deliver a disposal program. Installments received are reimbursed to customers as approved by the MPUC and other state regulators.

Other

Our operations are subject to workplace safety standards under the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (“OSHA”) and comparable state laws that regulate the protection of worker health and safety. In addition, the Company is subject to other government regulations impacting such matters as labor, competition, data privacy, etc. Based on information to date and because our policies and business practices are designed to comply with all applicable laws, we do not believe the effects of compliance on our operations, financial condition or cash flows are material.

Capital Spending and Financing

See Item 7 for discussion of capital expenditures and funding sources.

(a) No family relationships exist between any of the executive officers or directors.