Xcel Energy to donate thousands of surgical masks to health care workers

Thursday, Xcel Energy announced it would donate 192,000 surgical masks to health care workers in the eight states it serves.

Those states include Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and New Mexico.

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"We are all in this together and it’s important that we do what we can to support the health care workers and first responders who are on the frontlines of this pandemic," Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy, said. "We are equally committed to doing all we can to protect our employees who are doing essential work in our plants, transmission facilities and in the field."

Last week, Xcel donated an additional 40,000 surgical masks in Minnesota.

According to the company, it stocks protective masks to keep employees safe when working on heavy construction and in dusty conditions.