Xcel Energy’s North Dakota customers will begin seeing refunds on their bills this month to reflect federal tax credits on the energy generated by the company’s nuclear fleet.

Xcel Energy announced Tuesday, March 31, it is beginning to send more than $130 million in savings to its Upper Midwest customers from the federal tax credits. This brings the total savings to more than $330 million over the first two years of the credits.

In North Dakota, the average refund, based on residential usage, will be $2.05 per month over a 12-month period starting April 1. The total refund in North Dakota is $58 million.

The average residential customer in North Dakota was scheduled last June to receive a monthly bill credit of $4.49, totaling $53.83 over the 12 months through July 2026.

Xcel Energy’s two nuclear power plants, Monticello and Prairie Island, together accounted for 27% of the electricity used by customers across the company’s five-state Upper Midwest system in 2025. Xcel Energy has received federal approval to extend the operating life of its Monticello nuclear plant well into the future, and the company plans to seek a similar extension for its Prairie Island plant.

“Our Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants are critical to our region’s energy security. Together, they deliver more than one-quarter of the electricity that our Upper Midwest customers use to power their homes and businesses,” said Bria Shea, president of Xcel Energy in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, in the company’s announcement. “We advocated for these tax credits on nuclear energy generation in federal law. They represent yet another way our carbon-free, always-available nuclear fleet delivers for our customers and states.”

The federal tax credit for nuclear energy generation was created under a 2022 federal law and continued under a 2025 law. Nuclear energy enjoys broad support among policymakers and the public because it’s the only energy source available that is both carbon free and available 24/7, according to Xcel.

The average refund in Minnesota will be $2.46 per month over a nine-month period starting April 1. The total refund in Minnesota is $83.1 million. The average refund will be $2.26 per month in South Dakota over a 10-month period likely to start May 1. The total refund in South Dakota is $6 million.

In Wisconsin and Michigan, the company included the credits in setting rates that started Jan. 1. In Wisconsin, that will result in a decrease of $37.5 million and in Michigan a decrease of $300,000.