Xcel appoints area manager for Corporate Economic Development

Xcel Energy, the national company that services eastern and southeastern New Mexico with electricity, has appointed its first manager for Corporate Economic Development in the company’s Texas-New Mexico service area.

Tonya Tyler, a longtime employee of Xcel, will fill that role, the company said. In her new position, she will help promote the company’s support for regional economic development in the area.

“Tonya has spent her career building relationships in our communities and assisting our customers with every need,” Brad Baldridge, Xcel Energy’s director of Customer and Community Relations, said in a statement announcing the appointment. “This commitment to service, her attention to detail and her genuine enthusiasm for meeting customer needs and improving our communities make her an ideal fit for this newly created position.”

Tyler has worked for Xcel since 1995, starting as a drive-up cashier with the company’s predecessor company, Southwestern Public Service Co. She then transitioned to an account representative in the Texas-New Mexico Business Customer Relations group — a job that saw her manage relationships with some of the company’s biggest customers.

That included Tyler’s management of 170 commercial and industrial customers in the region that had a total revenue of $170 million, Xcel said in a news release.

Aside from her time at Xcel, Tyler has actively contributed to community development in the Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, area, and has served as president of Center City of Amarillo and as a director for the Canyon Chamber of Commerce.

Xcel Energy serves more than 126,000 customers in New Mexico spread across six counties. Nationally, it serves customers in eight states for electric utility needs.