Xcel Energy’s average residential electric customer in Wisconsin is set to pay about $24.91 more a month in 2027 than in 2025, under rates that Wisconsin regulators approved in November 2025. The gap for 2026 is smaller, about $13.47 a month over 2025. Both numbers are estimates for an average home, and the 2027 figure is the total difference from 2025, not an extra charge stacked on top of 2026.
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved electric and natural gas increases for Xcel, Alliant Energy and Madison Gas and Electric covering 2026 and 2027, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. The approved amounts came in below what the utilities first requested.
What the commission approved for Xcel
Anyone who pays an Xcel bill in Wisconsin, including the retirees and fixed-income households who feel a $25 swing most, should look at the 2027 figure as a planning number, not a quote. The commission’s estimates describe an average residential customer, and an individual bill moves with how much electricity and gas a household uses.
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Xcel’s electric increase was approved $24.6 million below its initial request, and its gas increase was $2.2 million lower. Residential gas customers face about $7.08 more a month in 2026 and $8.70 more in 2027 compared with 2025. The utility says the money funds upgrades to the electric grid and the gas system.
A home that buys both electric and gas service from Xcel would see the two figures combine to about $33.61 a month above 2025 levels in 2027. That works out to roughly $403 a year, by simple arithmetic from the approved estimates. The electric piece alone is about $299 a year, compared with about $162 a year at the 2026 estimate of $13.47 a month. In other words, the average Xcel electric customer has already absorbed one step up this year, and a second, larger step is built into the approved rates for 2027.
What Xcel asked for before the cuts
Earlier in 2025, Xcel asked for $150.7 million over two years. The request included an 11.8% electric increase in 2026, about 61 cents a day, and a 7.2% increase in 2027, about 36 cents a day. For natural gas it sought 12.7% in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027.
Xcel said at the time that the money was primarily to support investments to strengthen and upgrade its distribution system, the poles, wires and pipes closest to homes and businesses.
Commissioner Kristy Nieto cited “a spirit of cooperation” among the parties, even though Xcel did not reach a settlement with advocates as Alliant and MGE did. Tom Content of the Citizens Utility Board called the outcome “a missed opportunity” to reduce the increase further, especially on profits, noting that Xcel’s Wisconsin profit rate is higher than its Minnesota rate.
How the other Wisconsin utilities compare
Xcel’s increase is the largest of the three approved that month. Alliant’s average residential electric bill is about $9.57 a month higher in 2026 and $17.45 higher in 2027 than in 2025. Madison Gas and Electric’s rises by about 13 cents in 2026 and $5.44 in 2027.
The settlements for the other two utilities came with bill-help money. Alliant’s adds funding for customer bill-reduction programs, including a credit for cutting energy use during high-demand periods, and MGE’s sets aside $500,000 a year for the next two years for programs serving low- to moderate-income customers. The reported Xcel outcome did not include a settlement, and Xcel said it will work with customers who are struggling to pay.
The gas side shows the same ranking. Alliant’s average residential gas bill rises about $1.08 in 2026 and $1.80 in 2027, and MGE’s by $1.91 and $3.43. Xcel’s gas figures of $7.08 and $8.70 are the highest of the three.
No new Xcel rate case appears on the commission’s current docket announcements. The commission’s August 25, 2026 notice of pending rate cases names Wisconsin Electric Power Company, Wisconsin Gas and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, with hearings on September 1 and September 29, and does not mention Xcel or Northern States Power-Wisconsin.
A fixed income and a shut-off notice
The increases land hardest on households that are already behind. WXPR spoke with Thomas Burhans, 60, of Superior, who is disabled, lives on a fixed income and had his power shut off in 2025 after falling behind on payments. He said even $16 or $18 a month matters, because that money could go toward medication or groceries.
Customers who want help can start with the commission’s utility payment assistance page, which lists tips for lowering bills, payment arrangements with a utility and financial aid for electric, natural gas and water bills.
For an Xcel household in Wisconsin, the open question is how much of a roughly $299 electric increase, or $403 with gas, can be offset before 2027 begins. The commission’s estimates give the size of the gap, and the utility payment page is where the state points customers to ways to close it.
Could heating or bill help offset the extra $24.91 a month?
A bill that rises about $299 a year in 2027, and about $403 for a home that also buys Xcel gas, lands on top of a 2026 increase households have already absorbed. Help with heating and power bills usually comes with an application and a renewal date, and a lapsed renewal can cost a household the help it had.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers heating, cooling and home-repair help for older homeowners. It includes an application log and renewal calendar for keeping track of what was filed and when each one comes up again.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
