SECURITIES  AND  EXCHANGE  COMMISSION
                           Washington,  D.C.  20549

                                  FORM  8-K

                              CURRENT  REPORT

                 Pursuant  to  Section  13  or  15(d)  of
                 the  Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934

Date  of  Report  (Date  of  earliest  event  reported)   February 23, 2000
                                                          -----------------
                    NORTHERN  STATES  POWER  COMPANY
                    --------------------------------
     (Exact  name  of  registrant  as  specified  in  its  charter)

                               MINNESOTA
                               ---------
           (State  or  other  jurisdiction  of  incorporation)

          1-3034                                       41-0448030
          ------                                       ----------
(Commission  File  Number)                 (IRS Employer Identification No.)

      414  NICOLLET  MALL,  MPLS,  MN                           55401
      -------------------------------                           -----
(Address  of  principal  executive  offices)                 (Zip  Code)

Registrant's  telephone  number,  including  area  code        612-330-5500
                                                               ------------


  (Former  name  or  former  address,  if  changed  since  last  report)



ITEM  5.    OTHER  EVENTS
- --------    -------------

Northern  States  Power  Co.  (NSP)  continues  to   seek  regulatory  approvals
associated  with  its  pending  merger  with  New  Century Energies, Inc. (NCE).
Pursuant  to  the merger, NCE will merge into NSP and, following the merger, NSP
will change its name to Xcel Energy, Inc. (Xcel).  NSP and NCE recently filed an
Application/Declaration on Form U-1 under the Public Utility Holding Company Act
of  1935,  as  amended, seeking various financing and related authorizations for
Xcel  and  its  subsidiaries  following  the  merger.    Such  Form U-1 contains
financial  information as of, and for the year ended, Dec. 31, 1999 for NSP, NCE
and  (on a pro forma basis) Xcel.  Reference is also made to NCE's Annual Report
on  Form  10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, which was recently filed by NCE
and contains an unaudited consolidated balance sheet and income statement of NSP
as of, and for  the  year ended, Dec. 31, 1999, and related pro forma  financial
information for Xcel. Similar information will be included in NSP's  1999 Annual
Report on Form  10-K,  which  will  be  filed  in  March  2000.


- ------
Forward  Looking  Statements
- ----------------------------

This  document  includes  forward-looking statements that are subject to certain
risks,  uncertainties  and  assumptions.    Such  forward-looking statements are
intended  to  be  identified  in   this  document  by  the  words  "anticipate,"
"estimate,"   "expect,"  "objective,"   "outlook,"  "projection,"    "possible,"
"potential"  and  similar  expressions.    Actual  results  may vary materially.
Factors  that  could  cause actual results to differ materially include, but are
not  limited  to:

- -  general economic conditions, including their impact on capital  expenditures;
- -  availability  or cost of  capital such as changes in:  interest rates; market
   perceptions of the power generation industry, NSP or any of its subsidiaries;
   or security  ratings;
- -  business  conditions  in  the  energy  industry;
- -  competitive  factors;
- -  unusual  weather;
- -  changes  in  federal  or  state  legislation;
- -  regulation;
- -  issues  relating  to  Year  2000  remediation  efforts;
- -  currency  translation  and  transaction  adjustments;
- -  regulatory  delays  or conditions imposed by regulatory agencies in approving
   the  proposed  merger  with  New  Century  Energies,  Inc.;
- -  the higher  degree of risk  associated with NSP's nonregulated  businesses as
   compared  to  NSP's  regulated  business;
- -  volatility  of  energy  prices  in  a deregulated market environment;
- -  the lack of operating history at NRG's development projects,  the lack of NRG
   operating  history  at the projects  not yet owned and the limited  operating
   history at the remaining  NRG  projects  provide  only  a  limited  basis for
   management  to  project  the  results  of  future  operations;
- -  risks associated with  timely completion of NRG projects, including obtaining
   competitive contracts,  obtaining regulatory  and permitting approvals, local
   opposition,  construction  delays and other factors beyond NRG's control;
- -  the  failure  to  timely  satisfy  the  closing  conditions  contained in the
   definitive  agreements  for  the  acquisitions  of  projects  by  NRG subject
   to definitive  agreements  but  not  yet  closed,  many  of  which are beyond
   NRG's control;
- -  factors  challenging  the successful  integration of  projects not previously
   owned  or  operated  by  NRG,  including  the  ability  to  obtain  operating
   synergies;
- -  factors  associated with operating  in foreign countries including: delays in
   permitting  and licensing,  construction delays and interruption of business,
   political  instability,   risk   of   war,   expropriation,  nationalization,
   renegotiation,  or  nullification of existing contracts,  changes in law, and
   the ability  to  convert  foreign  currency  into  United  States  dollars;
- -  and  the other risk factors listed from time to  time by NSP in reports filed
   with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.01 to NSP's
   Quarterly  Report  on  Form  10-Q  for  the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1999.

NSP  undertakes  no  obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements,  whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The  foregoing  review of factors pursuant to the Act should not be construed as
exhaustive.



                                   SIGNATURES
                                   ----------

Pursuant  to  the  requirements  of  the  Securities  Exchange  Act of 1934, the
registrant  has  duly  caused  this  report  to  be  signed on its behalf by the
undersigned  hereunto  duly  authorized.


                                         Northern  States  Power  Company
                                         (a Minnesota  Corporation)


                                         By  /s/

                                         Roger D. Sandeen
                                         Vice President and Controller

Dated:  February  23,  2000