RED WING, Minn. -- Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant's Unit 2 reactor
returned to full power at 2 a.m. CST today, producing electricity with two new steam
generators installed during a refueling and maintenance outage.returned to full power at 2 a.m. CST today, producing electricity with two new steam generators installed during a refueling and maintenance outage.

During the outage, which started Sept. 21, approximately 1,500 contractors helped plant
staff replace two 40-year-old steam generators and one-third of the unit's fuel to prepare Unit 2
for its next operating cycle.

"The steam generator replacement project is one of the significant investments Xcel
Energy is making in its nuclear plants to ensure continued safe, reliable, carbon-free
electricity generation for our customers for the next 20 years," said Dave Sparby, president
and CEO of Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company.

"Xcel Energy's Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating plants are among the
company's lowest-cost sources of generation on a per megawatt-hour basis. They run 24
hours a day, seven days per week, except during refueling outages."

Each of the two 550-megawatt reactors at Prairie Island is refueled approximately
once every 18 months. When both units are operating, the plant generates enough
electricity to power nearly 1 million homes. During refueling outages, Xcel Energy
purchases electricity from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator or other
utilities or increases electricity production at its other generating plants to ensure an
adequate power supply for its customers.

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Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company that
provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million
electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating
companies in eight Western and Midwestern states. Company headquarters are located in
Minneapolis.

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