Published June 29, 2023 On June 1, 2023 the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved a 9.6% rate increase over three years for customers of Xcel Energy’s electric utility. This final rate increase is much lower than the 21.2% rate increase Xcel had initially proposed. It is also lower than the 8.92% interim (temporary) rate increase…
Published February 27, 2023 On November 1, 2022, Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation (“MERC”) filed an application with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (the “PUC”) requesting an increase in natural gas rates of $40,322,302 (a 9.91 percent increase). How much MERC will ultimately be allowed to raise rates will be determined by the PUC following an…
Published February 10, 2023 In November 2021, Minnesota Power filed a request with state regulators to charge its Minnesota electric customers an additional $108 million each year. If approved, this rate increase would have caused a rate hike of about 18% — or about $15 more per month for a typical residential customer. After a…
Published January 10, 2023 CUB is pleased to have played an important role in a new regulatory development: Minnesota will now require its three largest natural gas utilities to file integrated resource plans (IRPs)! This blog post provides an overview of how this requirement arose and why it matters. On September 15, 2022, Minnesota’s four largest…
Published October 27, 2022 Last year, Xcel Energy filed a request with state regulators to charge its Minnesota electric customers an additional $677 million over the coming years. In its filing, Xcel addresses several reasons why it seeks to raise rates. For example, Xcel notes that it will be incurring additional costs to build new…
Published August 22, 2022 Since the fall of 2021, most Minnesotans who receive natural gas from CenterPoint Energy, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Energy Resources (“MERC”), or Great Plains Natural Gas Co. have had an extra surcharge added to their monthly gas bills. These surcharges enable the above utilities to gradually recover approximately $660 million in extraordinary…
Published July 7, 2022 Minnesota Power has asked to increase electric rates by more than 18 percent: approximately $180 per year for the average household. How much the utility will ultimately be allowed to raise rates will be determined by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which is now requesting public input. If you are…
Published May 26, 2022 Earlier this week, two judges recommended that natural gas customers should bear the full $660 million cost of a February 2021 winter storm. CUB is pushing back to make utility companies share the burden – and we could use your help. In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri caused natural gas prices…
Published May 24, 2022 Minnesota Power, the electric utility serving much of northeastern Minnesota, filed its latest Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) in February 2021. An IRP is a roadmap that public utilities use to analyze and model various strategies for meeting electricity demand over the next 15-year time horizon. Ideally, the IRP planning process allows utilities to…
Published April 21, 2022 In November 2021, Minnesota Power filed documents with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (the PUC) seeking to raise its rates by about 18 percent. If approved, electricity rates would go up by about $15 per month for a typical household in Minnesota Power’s service territory. CUB is fighting back. Background This…
