Xcel Energy is much like the Biden and Walz Administrations: they are great supporters of green energy and electric vehicles – in theory – but don’t want to allow the mining of essential minerals necessary to construct an electric vehicle.
Xcel Energy announced earlier this summer they put the kibosh on their plans to install 700 EV charging stations throughout Minnesota. This sudden change of face occurred when the energy company was denied a major rate increase by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
You see, Xcel was counting on using $200 million in “customer money” to pay for the EV charging stations.
Without that increase in rate payer funding, suddenly EVs and a carbon-free Minnesota isn’t as alluring as it once was to the energy corporation’s executives.
They certainly weren’t “going green” if they had to pay for it.
It’s sadly ironic that rate payers were almost on the hook for funding 700 Minnesota charging stations that most would never use.
This would have meant that retirees and other Xcel Energy rate payers who live month-to-month on a fixed income were going to be subsidizing EV charging stations for those who can afford an $80,000 luxury EV.