---
title: "Xcel Energy exits Michigan, selling 15,000 customers at no disclosed price, to focus on a $60 billion plan"
description: "Xcel is leaving Michigan altogether, handing 6,000 gas customers to SEMCO and 9,000 electric customers to Axium-owned UPPCO at no disclosed price, to concentrate capital on a $60 billion plan whose data-center payoff Minnesota's attorney general counts as a cost."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Energy"
published: 2026-10-09T19:05:28.899Z
modified: 2026-10-09T19:05:28.899Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/xcel-energy-exits-michigan-selling-15-000-customers-at-no-disclosed-price-to-focus-on-a-60-billion-plan
language: en
keywords: "Xcel Energy, Utilities, M&A, Data Centers, Regulation"
---

# Xcel Energy exits Michigan, selling 15,000 customers at no disclosed price, to focus on a $60 billion plan

> Xcel is leaving Michigan altogether, handing 6,000 gas customers to SEMCO and 9,000 electric customers to Axium-owned UPPCO at no disclosed price, to concentrate capital on a $60 billion plan whose data-center payoff Minnesota's attorney general counts as a cost.

## Fifteen thousand customers change landlords

Fifteen thousand customers in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula are getting new utility owners. [Xcel Energy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/xcel-energy) [agreed on October 6 to sell its Michigan natural gas operations](https://www.wxpr.org/energy-environment/2026-10-06/xcel-announces-plan-to-sell-upper-peninsula-operations-to-two-utilities), 6,000 customers, to SEMCO Energy Gas Company, and its 9,000 electric customers in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties to Upper Peninsula Power Company, with closing expected in 2027 after state and federal approvals [1][2]. "We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for our customers and employees," said Karl Hoesly, who runs Xcel's Wisconsin and Michigan operations [1].

## A $10 billion fund buys the wires

[Neither deal carries a disclosed price](https://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/news/55410386/xcel-signs-deals-to-divest-michigan-utilities) [3][4]. What changes hands is 470 miles of distribution line and 110 miles of transmission, immediately adjacent to the buyer's territory [5]. UPPCO's owner, Axium Infrastructure, has held the utility since June 2021 and says it manages more than $10 billion; the purchase adds about 17% to UPPCO's 52,000-customer base [5][4]. SEMCO, serving more than 325,000 customers across Michigan, takes the gas side [2].

## The exit Xcel can afford

The divestiture is 0.2% of Xcel's 3.9 million electric customers, and Michigan drops off its eight-state map once the deals close [3][6]. That is the strategy. [The capital plan behind it runs $60 billion through 2030](https://www.tradingview.com/news/zacks:e9876219a094b:0-xcel-energy-to-sell-michigan-asset-to-sharpen-its-growth-strategy/), about $13.8 billion of it this year, targeting roughly 11% annual rate-base growth, nearly 4 gigawatts of data-center contracts by 2027, and 6-8% or better annual EPS growth [7][3].

## The AI math is still contested

The load at the center of that plan is disputed on the record. [The Inference reported on October 2](https://theinference.org/article/google-s-minnesota-data-center-xcel-counts-1-1-billion-in-savings-the-watchdog-counts-1-billion-in-costs) that Xcel claims more than $1.1 billion in net benefits to other customers from its Google Pine Island data-center deal, while the Minnesota attorney general's ratepayer division counts about $1 billion in net costs, with the deciding dollars blacked out [8]. The build already outruns the cash it generates: capex has exceeded operating cash flow in 11 of the last 12 quarters [9]. Customers carry the difference elsewhere, as with the $1.2 billion Lamar DC Tie upgrade, which passes 80% of its costs to electric bills on top of a $250 million federal grant [10].

*Chart: **Capex has outrun operating cash in 11 of the last 12 quarters** Line chart of Xcel Energy quarterly operating cash flow and capital expenditure, Q3 2023 to Q2 2026, with capex above operating cash flow in 11 of 12 quarters*

*Quarterly, USD billions; capital expenditure shown as positive spending. Xcel Energy figures from its SEC filings, Q3 2023 through Q2 2026, retrieved October 9, 2026. [9]*

## Two dates decide what the pruning was worth

Xcel's answer: Google funds 1,900 megawatts of new generation at no cost to existing customers, and Michigan customers see no immediate rate or billing change [8][1]. The dates that matter are the Pine Island review challenge on November 16, before a commission that just raised Xcel's allowed return to 9.6%, then the sale approvals ahead of a 2027 close [8][1]. Until Minnesota rules, every data-center number in the $60 billion plan is a claim, not a measured fact [8].

## Takeaway

Xcel is exiting Michigan, selling 15,000 U.P. customers to SEMCO and UPPCO at no disclosed price, to concentrate a $60 billion capital plan on data-center-driven growth that Minnesota's attorney general still counts as a net cost.

## Sources

1. [The Mining Journal, Xcel Energy sells U.P. operations to SEMCO, UPPCO, 9 October 2026](https://www.miningjournal.net/news/front-page-news/2026/10/xcel-energy-sells-u-p-operations-to-semco-uppco/)
2. [WXPR, Xcel announces plan to sell Upper Peninsula operations to two utilities, 6 October 2026](https://www.wxpr.org/energy-environment/2026-10-06/xcel-announces-plan-to-sell-upper-peninsula-operations-to-two-utilities)
3. [T&D World, Xcel Signs Deals to Divest Michigan Utilities, 7 October 2026](https://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/news/55410386/xcel-signs-deals-to-divest-michigan-utilities)
4. [Institutional Real Estate, Inc., Axium-backed UPPCO optimizes footprint in Michigan, 7 October 2026](https://irei.com/news/axium-backed-uppco-optimizes-footprint-in-michigan/)
5. [EuropaWire (Axium Infrastructure press release), UPPCO agrees to acquire Xcel Energy's Michigan electric utility assets in Axium-backed expansion, 7 October 2026](https://news.europawire.eu/uppco-agrees-to-acquire-xcel-energys-michigan-electric-utility-assets-in-axium-backed-expansion/eu-press-release/2026/10/07/16/00/04/182231/)
6. [Daily Energy Insider, Xcel Energy sells electric and gas operations in Upper Peninsula Michigan, 8 October 2026](https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/54051-xcel-energy-sells-electric-and-gas-operations-in-upper-peninsula-michigan/)
7. [Zacks Investment Research via TradingView, Xcel Energy to Sell Michigan Asset to Sharpen Its Growth Strategy, 8 October 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/zacks:e9876219a094b:0-xcel-energy-to-sell-michigan-asset-to-sharpen-its-growth-strategy/)
8. [The Inference, Google's Minnesota data center: Xcel counts $1.1 billion in savings, the watchdog counts $1 billion in costs, 2 October 2026](https://theinference.org/article/google-s-minnesota-data-center-xcel-counts-1-1-billion-in-savings-the-watchdog-counts-1-billion-in-costs)
9. [Xcel Energy, quarterly figures from its SEC filings (retrieved 9 October 2026)](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000072903)
10. [KFDA NewsChannel 10, Xcel Energy plans $1 billion transmission project to boost grid reliability, 8 October 2026](https://www.newschannel10.com/2026/10/08/xcel-energy-plans-1-billion-transmission-project-boost-grid-reliability/)


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Xcel Energy exits Michigan, selling 15,000 customers at no disclosed price, to focus on a $60 billion plan — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/xcel-energy-exits-michigan-selling-15-000-customers-at-no-disclosed-price-to-focus-on-a-60-billion-plan