On June 10, 2025, Xcel Energy announced a major milestone in the construction of a new service center that will position it to continue to provide safe and reliable energy service across St. Paul.
The company has completed the structure of the main building at the site, marking the halfway point in the 320,000-square-foot project. The new service center, which is part of The Heights multi-use development on St. Paul's East Side, will be about twice the size of the company's existing service center on Rice Street.
"We have outgrown our current service center on Rice Street, which has served our customers reliably for the past century," said Amanda Rome, executive vice president and group president - Utilities, and chief customer officer. "By investing in this larger, more modern facility, we are demonstrating our commitment to the St. Paul community. This facility has been designed from the ground up to support the level of service residents and businesses expect of us."
Service centers provide a home base for the Xcel Energy teams that perform essential maintenance on energy infrastructure and quickly respond to any issues that might arise, such as outages from storms. The new facility will house field crews, dispatchers and design teams working on the company's electrical and natural gas systems, along with the expanded office spaces, equipment storage and maintenance shops. The site will also include room for 50% more fleet vehicles.
"The 375 workers currently based at our Rice Street location do crucial work around the clock to keep the city's lights on and appliances running. The new facility will not only bring them the expanded space and capabilities they need going forward, but also a modernized work environment that improves the employee experience," said Ryan Long, president of Xcel Energy-Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Xcel Energy collaborated with the Saint Paul Port Authority throughout the process of locating and designing the service center, with the goal of having significant sustainability features and ensuring the facility blends well into the surrounding development and neighborhood.
"This service center is truly the anchor of The Heights, and I look forward to it being a thriving workplace for more than 400 employees and an asset to the Greater East Side," said Todd Hurley, president of the Saint Paul Port Authority.
The service center is designed to be energy-efficient and will operate primarily on renewable energy provided by 1 megawatt of solar panels on its roof. It will also have 23 vehicle charging stations to support the company's growing number of electric-powered fleet vehicles.
All employees currently based at the Rice Street service center will move to the new facility once the site becomes operational in late 2026 or early 2027. The transition will not cause any interruptions to electric or gas service for customers.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on X and Facebook.
