02:50 PM EDT, 08/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with company response in the fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

Xcel Energy ( XEL ) is among multiple utility companies facing an investigation launched by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton related to the 2024 Smokehouse Creek and Windy Deuce Fires, according to a Friday press release.

Paxton's office issued civil investigative demand letters to utilities, including Xcel Energy ( XEL ), for documents related to the fires to determine if any Texas laws were violated.

"Some of these companies may have acted negligently by failing to conduct necessary infrastructure maintenance and possibly prioritizing environmental, social, and governance or diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas over safety," Paxton noted.

An Xcel Energy ( XEL ) spokesperson told MT Newswires that the company and its subsidiary, Southwestern Public Service Company, will cooperate with the Texas Attorney General's office "to better understand the causes of the Texas Panhandle wildfires."

"Xcel Energy ( XEL ) disputes claims that it acted negligently in maintaining and operating its infrastructure," the company's spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "However, through the company's Q2, we have resolved 187 of 253 claims made through the company's voluntary claims process and have committed to $176 million in settlement agreements, of which $123 million has been paid to claimants. Xcel Energy ( XEL ) does not believe its assets played a role in the Windy Deuce fire."

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