June 15, 2022 Star Tribune Lisa Goodman Have you noticed that your CenterPoint gas bill is up this year? You’re not alone. In addition to CenterPoint’s rate hike, some of those higher costs are from a five-day period in February 2021 when wholesale fuel prices spiked 4,000%. If the utility prevails, customers will be paying…
23Jun
How to decipher your electric bill in Minnesota
June 19, 2022 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Utility bills can be confusing. Here’s a breakdown of what all the lines on a typical bill mean and what your bill funds. The electricity-sucking summer air-conditioning season is upon us, just as energy costs are soaring. With that in mind, consumers might be scrutinizing their electricity bills….
13Jun
Minnesota gas utilities criticized for making Uri crisis worse on customers
June 13, 2022 Energy and Policy Institute Karlee Weinmann Minnesota state agencies urged regulators in scathing filings this month to require gas utilities to absorb at least a portion of the combined $662 million in extra charges they racked up over a five-day cold snap in February 2021. The utilities are asking regulators for permission…
08Jun
CenterPoint touts $1.3B gain from selling stake in company accused of price gouging
CenterPoint touts $1.3B gain from selling stake in company accused of price gouging June 8, 2022 Minnesota Reformer Max Nesterak This past year has been good to CenterPoint. Not so for its customers. On top of soaring gas prices, Minnesotans who get their natural gas from CenterPoint Energy are on the hook for $466 million to…
01Jun
Welcome Akia Vang, CUB’s new outreach intern
Published June 1, 2022 Akia recently finished his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management. He will be returning to back to campus this fall as an incoming student at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy program. He most recently was a…
01Jun
Centerpoint Energy earnings report reveals $1.3 billion gain from deal with Texas company that benefited from 2021 gas price spike
Published June 1, 2022 Earlier this year, CUB released a white paper outlining concerns we had about a merger involving CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (the Texas-based parent company of Minnesota’s largest natural gas utility) and another Texas-based gas company, Energy Transfer. CenterPoint’s earnings reports have now revealed that, as a result of the merger, CenterPoint Energy,…
31May
Judges: Minnesota customers should bear full $660M in costs from February 2021 storm
May 24, 2022 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Minnesota natural gas utilities acted “prudently” during a historic February 2021 storm, so they should be allowed to fully pass on $660 million in extra gas costs to their customers, according to two administrative law judges. The judges’ conclusions, released Tuesday, rejected contentions from two state agencies that…
24May
Welcome Austin Northagen, CUB’s new legal intern
Published May 24, 2022 Austin joined the Citizens Utility Board in May 2022 as a legal intern. He will be conducting legal research and writing to support CUB’s participation in Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Dockets and in ongoing rate cases. Austin is a rising 3L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law where…
11May
Coming this Summer: Spiking Electricity Bills Plus Blackouts
May 11, 2022 Inside Climate News Dan Gearino Electricity prices are rising in much of the country at the same time that climate change is contributing to extreme heat and a high chance of blackouts this summer. For consumers, the result is an increase in financial strain to pay for a product that often is…
21Apr
CenterPoint boosts CEO pay to $37.8 million, blowing past other utilities
April 19, 2022 Energy and Policy Institute Karlee Weinmann CenterPoint Energy paid its CEO a total of $37.8 million last year, far exceeding executive pay at peer companies while it sought massive rate hikes for customers already struggling to keep up with skyrocketing utility bills. A review of executive compensation at large U.S. utilities places David Lesar’s…