2 October 2007 -- Xcel Energy Inc.'s Northern States Power Co. unit won a lawsuit against the federal government over disposal of nuclear waste from the utility's Minnesota nuclear plants. Xcel filed the lawsuit nearly a decade ago over disposal of spent nuclear fuel from the Prairie Island and Monticello plants. That fuel was supposed to have been sent to the national nuclear waste storage facility in Yucca Mountain, Nev., but that facility's opening has been delayed. The earliest opening date now is in 2017.

The damage award includes around $43.1 million for construction and operation of on-site storage facilities, $48.7 million for compliance with legislative mandates and $24.7 million to cover expenses.