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Income Taxes (Tables) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] |
Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block] | The following table reconciles the difference between the statutory rate and the ETR:
|  | Three Months Ended Sept. 30 |  | Nine Months Ended Sept. 30
|  | 2020 |  | 2019 |  | 2020 |  | 2019
Federal statutory rate |  | 21.0 | % |  | 21.0 | % |  | 21.0 | % |  | 21.0 | %
State tax (net of federal tax effect) |  | 5.0 |  |  | 5.0 |  |  | 5.1 |  |  | 5.0 |
Decreases: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Wind PTCs |  | (8.0) |  |  | (6.1) |  |  | (13.2) |  |  | (8.1) |
Plant regulatory differences (a) |  | (7.2) |  |  | (5.6) |  |  | (7.4) |  |  | (5.5) |
NOL carryback |  | (1.9) |  |  | — |  |  | (1.0) |  |  | — |
Other tax credits and NOL allowances (net) |  | (1.0) |  |  | (1.7) |  |  | (1.2) |  |  | (1.8) |
Other (net) |  | (1.2) |  |  | (0.6) |  |  | (1.3) |  |  | (0.5) |
Effective income tax rate |  | 6.7 | % |  | 12.0 | % |  | 2.0 | % |  | 10.1 | %
(a) Regulatory differences for income tax primarily relate to the credit of excess deferred taxes to customers through the average rate assumption method. Income tax benefits associated with the credit of excess deferred credits are offset by corresponding revenue reductions.
Summary of Statute of Limitations Applicable to Open Tax Years [Table Text Block] | Federal Audits — Statute of limitations applicable to Xcel Energy’s consolidated federal income tax returns expire as follows:
Tax Years |  | Expiration
2014 — 2016 |  | July 2021
Earliest Open Tax Years Subject to Examination by State Taxing Authorities in the Major Operating Jurisdictions | As of Sept. 30, 2020, Xcel Energy’s earliest open tax years (subject to examination by state taxing authorities in its major operating jurisdictions) were as follows:
State |  | Year
Colorado |  | 2009
Minnesota |  | 2009
Texas |  | 2011
Wisconsin |  | 2014
•In 2018, Wisconsin began an audit of tax years 2014 - 2016. As of Sept. 30, 2020, no material adjustments have been proposed. •In July 2020, Minnesota began a review of the 2015-2018 Research and Experimentation Credits. As of Sept. 30, 2020, no material adjustments have been proposed. •No other state income tax audits were in progress as of Sept. 30, 2020.
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits | Unrecognized tax benefits — permanent vs. temporary:
(Millions of Dollars) |  | Sept. 30, 2020 |  | Dec. 31, 2019
Unrecognized tax benefit — Permanent tax positions |  | $ | 36 |  |  | $ | 35 |
Unrecognized tax benefit — Temporary tax positions |  | 5 |  |  | 9 |
Total unrecognized tax benefit |  | $ | 41 |  |  | $ | 44 |
Tax Benefits Associated with NOL and Tax Credit Carryforwards | Unrecognized tax benefits were reduced by tax benefits associated with NOL and tax credit carryforwards:
(Millions of Dollars) |  | Sept. 30, 2020 |  | Dec. 31, 2019
NOL and tax credit carryforwards |  | $ | (28) |  |  | $ | (40) |

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 12 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32687-109319 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure for tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities and other income tax contingencies. Includes, but is not limited to, interest and penalties, reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, unrecognized tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate, tax years that remain subject to examination by tax jurisdictions, and information about positions for which it is reasonably possible that amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=SL6600010-109319 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -Subparagraph (d) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 19 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32840-109319 + Details
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- Definition Tabular disclosure of income tax examinations that an enterprise is currently subject to or that have been completed in the current period typically including a description of the examination, the jurisdiction conducting the examination, the tax year(s) under examination, the likelihood of an unfavorable settlement, the range of possible losses, the liability recorded, the increase or decrease in the liability from the prior period, and any penalties and interest that have been recorded. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 15 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32718-109319 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 55 -Paragraph 217 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121610041&loc=d3e36027-109320 + Details
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