Xcel no longer backing Prairie Island upgrade - WXOW News 19 La Crosse, WI – News, Weather and Sports |

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Xcel Energy Inc. is no longer backing a proposed upgrade at its Prairie Island nuclear plant near Red Wing.

The Minneapolis-based utility says its economic forecast no longer sees a benefit to boosting power at Prairie Island.

Xcel already has added bigger fuel rods to the plant's twin reactors in anticipation of increasing their output. The company says those rods offer an unexpected saving in longer times between refueling -- and that could benefit customers almost as much as the power upgrade.

The Star Tribune reports Xcel told state regulators of its decision late Monday.

Xcel says the rods could keep the reactors running two years between refueling compared with the current 18 months. That's a significant saving because refueling requires a reactor to be shut down for weeks.