Xcel Energy ratepayers didn’t get a lump of coal for Christmas — they got a reduction in their electric and natural gas bills starting in January.

Xcel submitted its quarterly price adjustments to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission Dec. 15, and the PUC approved the request Tuesday.

Xcel says the average residential customer will see a $4.87 reduction in their monthly gas bills from their December bill come Jan. 1 due to lower-than anticipated wholesale natural gas prices.

The average small business customer will see a $23.28 reduction from their December gas bill.

Xcel passes the cost of gas on to customers without adding any charges. Gas cost adjustments are made quarterly.

According to Xcel’s PUC filings, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the average monthly residential savings for electricity in the first quarter of 2024 comes to $2.20, and $3.34 for small businesses.

Year-over-year, the average residential natural gas bill in the first quarter of 2023 was $139.13, and $615.91 for small businesses.

By comparison, the first-quarter residential and small business bills for 2024 are expected to be $100.02 and $429.26 respectively. This represents a 28.11% reduction in cost for residential and a 30.27% reduction for small businesses.

But in reality, ratepayers will see a smaller decrease in their overall bill due to charges not included in Xcel’s base rates called “riders.”

At its regular meeting Wednesday, the PUC approved changes in several riders, which appear to result in an average net savings for gas and electricity of $4.57 for residential customers and $22.95 for small businesses.

One such rider is the Transportation Electrification Plan that bills Xcel customers for Xcel’s efforts to improve, among other things, access to EV chargers.

The PUC approved an increase in the average residential customer’s bill of $0.37 per month and an increase for the average small businesses of $0.97 per month.

Another is Xcel’s Demand Side Management (DSM) Cost Adjustment for natural gas and electricity.

Xcel charges ratepayers for energy efficiency programs, offering things like rebates and discounts to customers who replace existing appliances with more energy efficient ones.

Other parts of this program include time-of-use electrical pricing to discourage use during peak demand hours, incentives for installing smart thermostats that Xcel can control, energy audits and education programs to help customers reduce their energy bills.

The impact for DSM programs for both gas and electric on the average residential customer for 2024 will be an increase of $0.93 and $1.16 per month for small commercial customers, said Xcel.

Another rider is the Purchased Capacity Cost, which is the price Xcel pays for buying energy from independent producers — including wind and solar.

The average residential customer will be paying $1.20 more, and small business customers will be paying an additional $1.54.

The PUC also approved a revision to Xcel’s electric commodity adjustment, which compensates Xcel for changes in costs associated with its electric generation such as the costs of fuel used in power generation, purchased power from other suppliers, or expenses related to complying with renewable energy standards.

The impact for an average usage residential customer will be a decrease of $2.20 per month and a decrease of $3.34 on small commercial bill.