Xcel would raise Colorado electric rates slightly under settlement

Xcel Energy Inc. on Friday filed a multi-year settlement agreement with Colorado regulators which, if approved, will raise electricity rates for its customers here by an estimated $41.5 million in 2015. Monthly residential electricity bills over the course of the three-year agreement, if approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), are expected to rise by about 96 cents per month in 2015 and by an additional estimated 72 cents per month in 2016 before dropping in 2017. The cumulative…