The Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 3 held a technical conference to review Public Service Company’s updated grid modernization adjustment clause (GMAC) tariff and related revenue-requirement spreadsheets, receiving explanations from Xcel Energy staff about several line-item changes and agreeing to consider tariff-language edits and next steps at the commission’s next Committee of the Whole meeting.

Chair Eric Blank opened the proceedings and said the session’s purpose was to allow the company to present its calculations and for commissioners and advisers to ask clarifying questions. Jason Piquet, director of regulatory administration for Xcel Energy in Colorado, led the company presentation and identified colleagues on the revenue and pricing teams.

Why it matters: Commissioners must decide whether the tariff text and the revenue-requirement inputs accurately reflect prior deliberations and limits the GMAC’s reach. Adviser Mike Mendelson told the company the Commission previously decided to cap noncapacity investments eligible for GMAC at $100 million in 2027 and $200 million in 2028, and asked whether that cap should be incorporated into the tariff now.

Company response and scope: Xcel representatives said the submitted Attachment 4 is their understanding of the final tariff reflecting the Commission’s oral deliberations, but invited further discussion and edits. "It's our understanding that that this is this is final as regarding our understanding of the commission's deliberations to date," a company representative said, while also saying the company would not oppose including more-specific language if the Commission preferred.

On whether distribution investments fall into the tariff’s defined buckets, Mr. Piquet said the intent of the Type 1/Type 2 definitions is to capture distribution activities into one of the two designations, and the tariff language was drafted at a higher level so future distribution system plans would not be unduly constrained. "We could reflect the cap," he said when asked whether the previously decided caps could be added to the tariff.

Line-item changes and data vintage: Commission adviser Ian Fetters highlighted three specific changes in the December 1 filing compared with the company’s Nov. 10 spreadsheet: a roughly $4 million shift in the Type 1 plant service balance, about $900,000 change in the EADA inventory balance, and an approximately $3.3 million movement in Type 1 income taxes. Company staff explained those variances primarily reflect an updated data vintage and that earlier revenue-requirement presentations had been illustrative and based on a 2024 forecast. As the company put it, the December filing represents its "latest view" built from the underlying 2026 projects rather than prior illustrative runs.

On the EADA specifically, an unnamed company representative said the earlier DSP and November filings used 2024 vintage data, while the current filing incorporates more recent information. For income taxes, company staff said book-to-tax timing differences and deferred tax expense are likely drivers of the larger-dollar variance and offered to follow up with a detailed review if the Commission wanted one.

Process and next steps: Commissioners and advisers discussed modest edits to the tariff language to make clear that Commission-approved distribution system plan (DSP) decisions determine what is eligible under Type 1 versus Type 2 activities. Advisers said they would prepare suggested language and the Commission would consider an order shortly after its next Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting. The technical conference closed with no formal votes or motions recorded.

Participants and transparency: Speakers on the record included Chair Eric Blank; Commissioner Megan Gilman; Commissioner Tom Plante; company presenter Jason Piquet (Xcel Energy); and commission advisers Mike Mendelson and Ian Fetters. Company staff named in the record included Art Freitas and Jeff Knighton; other company representatives spoke but were not named on the audio record.

The Commission did not take formal action during the session; any tariff edits, inclusion of the 2027–28 caps, or follow-up on the spreadsheet variances would be addressed in subsequent written filings or at the next COW meeting.