Consumer gas bills will go up 2.9% in November under an Xcel rate increase ... Adding utility rate increases one on top of another is called “pancaking” and Wednesday Colorado regulators tossed another flapjack on the stack, granting Xcel Energy a $64.2 million increase in gas rates. The increase in the basic rate follows increases in gas rates for rising fuel prices this year and to cover $500 million in costs due to a winter cold snap in 2021 that sent fuel prices soaring. The rate hike granted by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission will increase the average residential bill...