Xcel Energy
Reviews and Complaints

I had been calling in since January, of this year, due to high bills trying to figure out why my bill was over $200. Typically, I paid close to $100 maybe a little over. The reps and supervisor told me to do a breaker test, which I did, and never found anything wrong. My husband and I are very conscious about leaving appliances or lights off if not needed. I called to find out if I was doing the test wrong and was told I was doing it right however it took until mid June for one representative to tell me the right way to do the breaker test and narrow down what may be the issue. All previous reps and the supervisor were giving incorrect instructions on how to complete the breaker test. I understand it is a customer's responsibility to learn how to manage their energy, however, when I am calling in since January to learn the right way to do things and being told incorrect instructions from reps and a supervisor something isn't right. I have paid hundreds of extra dollars in these past months in part because all, except the last employee, have not been able to provide correct information and honestly I do believe I should be reimbursed at least a portion of the extremely high bills.

We live at 535 Cook St. Denver, CO 80206. During the first 12 days of June we have already had 3 power outages on June 2, 4, and 12. The outages are typically confined to a few blocks near our house and it is always the same region while our neighbors, including those across the street on the east side of Cook St. have power. The outage covers from St. Paul St to the west side of Cook.

We had 3-4 outages last summer also, with the same blocks being out. The frequency of the outages is ridiculous but the fact that XCel keep fixing what appear to be a "band-aid" solution but doesn't address the fundamental issue is strange as it must be costing you (and us as your customers) a lot more than if the problem were resolved permanently. As block captains, we and our neighbors are increasingly frustrated by this situation and will raise it to the Public Service commission if it isn't resolved.

No gas no heat no hot water for 7 weeks is a nightmare. Came out to my house a month ago and promises to rush the order for the coldness in 2 weeks. Last two weeks been calling customer service always given different responses. Finally last week a representative called and saw work has been scheduled and will be done last Friday or Saturday. Took the days off and no one showed up. Called this Monday morning and rep said no work schedule or application has been set up. Need to start over and nothing else can be done. My family has been thru hail storm and snow storm freezing in the house with no hot food no hot water. We can't afford to live in a hotel until this is done.

I have been waiting 2 hours for them to come back and put my drop line up and put my electricity back on. How is this not an emergency. Are you guys gonna pay me back for all of my food that's gonna go bad? And it's hot inside my house right now and I can't put my airconditon on because i have no power. And about the my food again, I have no money right now to replace everything that I have in my fridge. And I hope you guys feel good about this.

Electric service was disconnected in error and has taken over 20 hours to reconnect customer service is not able to give me a eta of when the journeyman will arrive to get my service back nor are able to compensate me for the inconvenience of company's mistake. My food in my fridge has gone bad and had miss work because no hot water without electricity

We are currently experiencing our third power outage in two weeks. The first lasted the entire day. The second several hours and now, well who knows. We have experienced more power outages in this neighborhood than any other place we have lived. This is unacceptable and very frustrating. This is an average neighborhood- no super rich people here. It feels like we are not a priority. Who do I contact to hold excel accountable to fix this outage issue once and for all? Like most people my days at home are few and far between. I have a jam packed list of things to get done and most need electricity to complete. Let's get this problem tackled please. Hours long power outages on a regular basis are not what I pay for and are unacceptable.

On February 3, a new gas meter was installed at 1522 Atwood St., Longmont, CO, a property I own. On Feb. 7, a crew from Longs Peak Energy reported a gas leak while they were in the crawl space installing insulation. XCel energy employees responded, as well as the Longmont Fire Department. The Xcel employee, Albert, reported to his company that he found multiple leaks in the pipes in the crawl space, turned of the gas and red-tagged the meter (#429421). He then called me, as the landlord, to tell me I needed to have a plumber come out to repair the pipes before the gas could be turned on. On Feb. 8, AA Plumbing employee, David, spent 4 hours carefully checking the pipes for leaks, and also checking the new meter. No leaks were found on the pipes in the crawl space, and there was no evidence that the gas leak had come from those pipes. However, he did report that one of the pipes on the meter was very loose. Because the new gas meter was installed just 4 days before the report of a gas leak, I believe the meter was installed improperly. I would like to have this matter investigated further, because I the problem clearly was not the pipes in the crawl space, as had been reported by Xcel employee Albert.

Xcel is crazy & the government keeps feeding their craziness! They are time and time again allowed to raise their prices-That are outrageous already. I live in an apartment & my spring/summer bills have been around 75.00-I rarely run my air conditioners & live alone-Also, I don't use my in-unit laundry-So, I can't even imagine why my bill is so ridiculous. Back in the day when I had apartments where I had all of the utilities (central air/heat, W/D..) in my apartment-my electricity was never this high. And they are asking to raise the rates again-REALLY? You have to be kidding! Capitalism is one thing-But, allowing monopolies is totally another (Comcast-talking to you too). So, I guess the real problem is less the GREEDY businesses & more of our govt. for allowing-?

Upon receiving an excessively high electrical bill in March of 2016, I called Xcel Energy billing and talked to a customer service rep who said that most of my bills were based on estimates and that they haven’t been able to read my meter. Disturbed, I asked to talk to a supervisor who said they would investigate the issue. I told him since they didn’t have an accurate reading I would pay just a little more than normal until they get the issue sorted out and he agreed. After I received my April bill, I was even more astonished, my electric usage had doubled from the previous year, and they had put me on a payment plan and said they were going to cut off my electricity soon. I didn’t say I couldn’t pay the bill, I was only disputing the charge. I called customer service again and talked to a representative who said the electric meter had been removed and then replaced. I asked if they would send someone out to identify an assignable root cause which was causing the energy increase. Since it was Xcel’s meter that broke, I asked for them to pay for this. The rep refused and said Xcel will not pay for this. I asked how my energy use could be so high when I’ve changed half my light bulbs to CFL and LED bulbs. I almost fell out of my chair when she said LED bulbs lasted longer but were less energy efficient (not true, LED bulbs are 10 times more efficient). I was astonished that someone representing Xcel would say this. What a joke of a company. They charge as much as they feel like and twist the laws of Physics so they can justify the charges. Xcel has a monopoly so the crooks just charge what they feel like knowing you have no alternative.

10/30/15 I am at a loss of words with the lack of service from Xcel energy. My wife and I moved into our new address on 10/15/15, I filled out a Transfer Service on the Xcel energy website and received an email stating - Confirmation for Your Transfer Service Order - 10/14/2015. In this e-mail it also stated there will be a start-service fee. We worked out with the seller of our house that Bear Creek Tree removal would remove two trees from our property, they worked with Xcel to have some lines removed and reattached while the work was going on. On 10/30/15 and Xcel truck showed up at 8am to disconnect the power lines. The tree removal was completed at 6pm, and Bear Creek stated they were in contact with Xcel and they were on the way but did not have an ETA. The last time Bear Creek spoke with Xcel they were supposed to be at the address at 3:30pm but were delayed due to another call. I also called the person Bear Creek was talking too at [protected] to see how long it would be because it was starting to get cold. I spoke with a rep that said the reconnect was scheduled but they did not have an ETA. I then called the [protected] After 40 minutes on the phone I found out that Xcel is claiming I only changed our mailing address to 3200 W. 8th Ave and not the transfer of service. Because of that the house was considered vacant and no one was coming to reconnect the lines. I was also told that they only do reconnects Monday-Friday until 2pm every day. So now my family and I will be without power Friday (day of work), Saturday and Sunday. How can a company send a truck to an address, talk to the owner to disconnect wires, and not come back to reconnect the power? Thank God it is not cold or snowing right now! If there is any damage to pipes or other heating related problems, I will be holding Xcel fully responsible. Jeremiah P. Smith

Xcel Energy is the Worst. I am a single Mom trying to make best of a terrible situation. I was on a payment plan and I missed the due date by 1 full day because I had an emergency that took the little funds I had. I borrowed the funds and I paid the full balance as directed, and two days later I get a bill saying one due date two weeks into the future for the entire balance. I figure Okay - I was late so I will take care of it. The very next day I get a disconnect notice saying to pay the past due in two days or call for arrangements so I called and asked to hold until Friday and she tells me NO, I can only hold it until Thursday. Seriously? Who does that? If I paid the full balance that was due and I tell them it was an emergency one would think someone would realize it is no THEIR Electricity that I am using. - these People feel no understanding while saying the understand. I can only hope they go through a tough time in their life where they truly need help - and they are told "Sorry, I understand but there is nothing I can do". Realize - If someone asks for help regardless if YOU deem it necessary - have compassion people. You won't always be on your high horse.

Daughter just lost her job, but is struggling to keep up. Has auto pay for her bills. Her card expired, she didn't realize it, got no notice in the mail or in person, and Excel shut off her electricity in 90 degree weather. She lost all the food in her freezer and frig, can't feed the kids, kids are now sick from the heat. Excel double-charged her a couple months ago, and refused to refund the money, which made her over her limit, cost her a penalty etc. But they can just shut off her electricity without notice and ruin her life even more. I hope these ba$tards burn in hell forever...they are a monopoly in this area and are so corrupt. I wish they would get nailed to the wall by the utilities commission! She was also trying to keep her head above water by selling Mary Kay, had 3 parties lined up, but had to cancel due to these SOBs!

Xcel Energy added an old (5 years ago) bill onto my current bill at another address. This old bill not only wasn't in my name, I didn't live there, was only listed as a contact number on his bill. After the 600.00 was added to my bill, they have continually shut off my utilities every other month. I had tried to make payments, I tried to tell them that wasn't my bill but was bullied into paying just to get my services put back on, and still they shut off the gas. Today, they have decided to cut my electric as well. They are even going to the trouble of cutting the line at the pole because it is an older building. I have a 12 year old son and have received no empathy from them, Josh is the agent that I've spoken to, to no avail. Was told, well too bad it must be paid today or it gets cut tomorrow. And the kicker is that they have been charging me and my landlord for gas and won't even deal with that issue. What I've paid in a bill that I didn't have to could be applied to the old bill, but good old Josh wouldn't even listen. Lot's of States want to deregulate their energy companies, this is the type of business you end up having to deal with.

Here's a story that I think you'll find worth reading. It's a bit long, but I will try to condense it down as best I can. Here it is... The house I live in has two meters, but is not a duplex. It may have been at one point in time, but the house has always been rented as one unit since 2006. The people I live with currently signed a two year lease and moved in back in August of 2009. I subleased and moved in last August (2010). When the original tenants moved in they set up the utilities and we have been paying our Xcel bills every month on time with no problems... Until a week ago. We received a letter in the mail from Xcel energy saying that at a certain address that doesn't exist (our address if it were a duplex), they couldn't mail a bill. On Wednesday half of the electricity in the house went out. It turns out that our 2nd meter was being billed seperately to an address that does not exist and initially they were expecting us to pay for two years worth of service that we never had any knowledge of. Here's the kicker though. The last time any payment was made for that meter was July 29, 2008! It went three years with no disconnection, no phone call, no form of contact except a letter a week ago. Here we are a week before we move out of this house, and this happens. I spoke with the property manager of the company that owns the house and she was able to get it knocked down to only a years worth, but still, it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Considering the last payment was made in 2008, the tenants that lived in this house between August 2008 and July 2009 did not have to pay for that meter, and now this has all been passed onto us. What do you think? Do I have something here?

The transformer pad mount installed cornering my backyard has been humming since the day we moved in to the house in 2007. After figuring out the source of the noise, I had been fighting with Xcel Energy to get this resolved. They behave like an elephant mammoth which would not even feel touched even when a poor consumer like a moth hits it with full force. After many complaints, I was able to force them to have the transformer replaced, but the noise has not died down and my sleepless nights continue. Wakeup! Xcel.

Xcel Energy's website is the worst I have ever used. Why do I need a user name and password if EVERYTIME I sign in I have to give them my SSN.
And after paying my bill, I do NOT receive a confirmation code, the screen just goes back to the dashboard.

This is one of the WORST websites I have ever used - Going to back to paying my bill over the phone

My boyfriend has great credit. He pays his bills on time. Two months ago, Xcel Energy slapped him with a $1250.00 bill. Though the electric bill is current to date, Xcel Energy cheerfully imformed us that the meter reader had forgotten to read our gas meter for since 2009. So they decided to add all gas charges from 2010 to present, admitting no mistake on their part. Including refusing to work with us in any way, like maybe knocking a few months off, so that they could receive payment from us.

We received three disconnect notices from Xcel in one month. The first was for $168, due the 2nd of the month. We paid it. The second notice for the same amount, $168 was due the 23rd of the same month. We paid that as well. Both times we called to make payment arrangements and was told BOTH times that we had to pay them or would be disconnected. Now we get another disconnect notice for $200 due the 4th of this next month..next week. I called to find out why so many disconnect bills and what is the total we owe. I was told by customer service rep that the first bill was just a "warning", not a disconnect notice and it should say that on the notice. It does not. She said we only owed $168 ONCE, and we paid it twice. The notices are IDENTICAL. We spoke directly to reps and they said we had to pay BOTH. This is extremely misleading. And with the $200 disconnect notice, which is more than we actually owe ($180) the rep told me today that we still had to pay that full amount of the disconnect or they would shut us off. I asked why, since it was more than what we owed...and she said because the remainder was overdue. I asked to speak with a supervisor and she told me they didn't have any available there, that I had to put in some special request and they would call me back. This company is a JOKE! And a monopoly. We have no other option for our utility needs.

There really is no "Cold Weather Rule" for the northern states anymore. I called Xcel at the start of the winter to inquire about a payment plan for this winter, to make sure I would be covered under the "Cold Weather Rule". I generally pay $100/mo for electricity all year round. They set the monthly payment for me at over $150, because as they said my electricity "might" go up this winter. How is that helping me out? How is that helping any low income customer out. I sent them a payment two weeks ago on schedule, and just got a notice in the mail today demanding another payment in 6 days. I thought it was supposed to be a MONTHLY payment! I'm a single parent with a toddler on a very fixed income. Now I have to make my landlord wait for rent just to pay Xcel, because they feel like breaking the terms of the payment plan we already had in place! I don't want to make my landlord wait for money, but I have to. It's still below zero up here nightly and sometimes during the day as well. If I don't pay them, we freeze. We have nowhere else to go, and I work from home. How is shutting us off going to get them their money any faster? They really can do whatever they want to people, and get away with it. There's nothing anyone can do. We have nothing and they have enough money to buy and sell every single one of us.

I recieved a bill from Xcel for a little over $800. So i assumed it was a mistake and called them to get it resolved. They infomed me that they read the meters in April and from April til August all of my bills had been averaged off of the years prior. Well this home had been vacant for 2 years before making the bills nothing since all utilities were off the entire time. I thought the bills were normal and payed them on time only to find that they had "estimated" the bills. Then they informed me that my monthly bills are higher then they probably should be an encouraged me to find the source of the problem and something about ghost energy or something like that.