Exhibit 5.01

				Wendy B. Mahling Vice President, Corporate Secretary & Managing Attorney   414 Nicollet Mall, 401-8 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: 612.215.4671 Fax: 612.215.4544

June 15, 2020

Northern States Power Company

414 Nicollet Mall

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am the Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Managing Attorney of Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”), and, as such, I and the attorneys that I supervise have acted as counsel for the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of $700,000,000 aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 2.60% First Mortgage Bonds due 2051 (the “Securities”) pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, dated June 8, 2020 (the “Underwriting Agreement”), entered into by and among the Company and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc., and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, as representatives of the underwriters named therein (the “Underwriters”). The Securities will be issued pursuant to the Supplemental and Restated Trust Indenture dated May 1, 1988 between the Company and The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as successor trustee (the “Trustee”), as supplemented, and the Supplemental Trust Indenture, dated as of June 8, 2020, by and between the Company and the Trustee (as supplemented, the “Indenture”).

I, or attorneys that I supervise, have examined or are otherwise familiar with the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224333-04) filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to effect the registration of the Securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), pursuant to which the Securities are to be issued, such corporate action in connection with the issuance of the Securities as have occurred as of the date hereof and such other documents, records and instruments as I have deemed necessary or appropriate for the purposes of this opinion letter.

Based upon the foregoing and assumptions that follow, I am of the opinion that the Securities, when they are executed by the Company and authenticated by the Trustee in accordance with the Indenture and issued and delivered to the Underwriters against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the Underwriting Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company.

Northern States Power Company

June 15, 2020

Page 2

The foregoing opinion assumes that the Trustee has duly authorized, executed and delivered the Indenture. The foregoing opinion is also subject to:

I express no opinion as to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the laws of the State of Minnesota. The opinion herein expressed is limited to the specific issues addressed and to laws existing on the date hereof. By rendering this opinion letter, I do not undertake to advise you with respect to any other matter or of any change in such laws or in the interpretation thereof which may occur after the date hereof.

I hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.01 to the Current Report on Form 8-K dated the date hereof filed by the Company and incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, I do not hereby admit that I am included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder.