A proposed contract is under review
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office challenged a proposed Xcel Energy agreement to supply Google's Pine Island data center in October 1 comments. The office argues the current record does not show that other electricity customers are protected from costs attributable to the large customer.
The official release says Xcel claims more than $1.1 billion in net benefits for other customers, while the attorney general's analysis suggests closer to $1 billion in net costs. These are opposing positions in a regulatory proceeding, not a settled accounting result or an approved charge on a household bill.
The two cost estimates disagree
The office separately raises stranded-investment risk if demand falls or the data center leaves, and criticizes trade-secret redactions that limit public examination of the agreement. It asks for more information and protections before approval. Its larger "billions" warning concerns possible exposure, not money already collected.
The Public Utilities Commission may approve, modify or reject the proposed agreement under the requirements described in the release. Households should distinguish the current objection from a final rate order. The practical consumer question is whether data-center costs stay with the customer causing them, not whether this announcement itself changes every Xcel bill. Final treatment remains unresolved in the proceeding.