Exhibit 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Wayne H. Brunetti, certify that:

    1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Xcel Energy Inc. (a
Minnesota corporation);

    2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this annual
report;

    3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;

    4. The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and we have:

         a)  designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
             disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
             supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
             registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known
             to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
             period in which this annual report is being prepared;

         b)  evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
             and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about
             the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of
             the end of the period covered by this report based on such
             evaluation; and

         c)  disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
             control over financial reporting that occurred during the
             registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth
             fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially
             affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
             registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

    5. The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of directors
(or persons performing the equivalent function):

         a)  all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design
             or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
             reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
             record, process, summarize and report financial data; and

         b)  any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
             other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
             internal control over financial reporting.


                                                   /s/ WAYNE H. BRUNETTI
                                           -------------------------------------
                                           Wayne H. Brunetti
                                           Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer

Date: March 15, 2004