Dive Brief:

• Xcel Energy plans to form a subsidiary next year to build power lines in New Mexico and Texas.
• “The main purpose is to give us some financial flexibility,” said Teresa Mogensen, Xcel’s vice president for transmission.

Dive Insight:

Utilities around the U.S. Have been forming companies to build regional transmission lines, partly to take advantage of generous rates of return offered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate transmission.

Xcel said it planned to focus on its Southwestern Public Service region, where the company has budgeted $650 million for its planned transmission business. The utility company is considering expanding the business to its Minnesota and Dakotas service territory, but those states, with Xcel's support, have passed laws that make it harder for competitive transmission companies to do business.