Published March 9, 2022 Since the onset of COVID, major utilities across Minnesota have offered special protections against utility shut off. After April 30, 2022, the last of the special protections will end. For customers of CenterPoint Energy, Dakota Electric Association, Great Plains Natural Gas, Greater Minnesota Gas, Minnesota Energy Resources, Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power, and Xcel Energy: A…
March 1, 2022 MPR News Kirsti Marohn An advocacy group is raising questions about CenterPoint Energy’s financial interest in a Texas-based energy company that it says made billions of dollars from natural gas price spikes following a February 2021 winter storm. The Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, which advocates for utility customers, released the report…
February 26, 2022 Duluth News Tribune Alex Derosier ST. PAUL — Minnesotans have seen their utility bills rise this winter in response to climbing energy prices. While the portion of customers behind on payments has remained steady, filings with state regulators show the amount they owe has grown. In keeping with a general national trend…
February 21, 2022 Minnesota Reformer Rilyn Eischens Bebe Brandt turned off the heat, piled on blankets and limited stove use to one day a week this winter in hopes of containing her ballooning heating bill. Still, it wasn’t enough. Brandt, a single mom of two in Minneapolis, said her past-due balance swelled to $400. Brandt’s…
February 14, 2022 Public News Service Roz Brown The grid failure in Texas this time last year went far beyond the state’s border, and consumer advocates say it means the country needs to shore up its energy infrastructure. Brian Edstrom, senior regulatory advocate for the nonprofit Citizens Utility Board in Minnesota, said the infrastructure bill recently signed into law…
February 8, 2022 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Minnesota utility regulators on Tuesday unanimously approved Xcel Energy’s long-term plans for power generation, which are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining reliable and affordable electricity. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) gave the go-ahead for Minneapolis-based Xcel to close its coal plants by 2030, extend the…
Published February 7, 2022 The Public Utilities Commission wants to hear from you. Minnesota’s natural gas utilities want ratepayers to cover the entire cost of last February’s natural gas price spike. CUB is currently party to a contested case proceeding where we are arguing that four of these utilities (CenterPoint, Xcel, MERC, and Great Plains)…
February 3, 2022 Twin Cities Pioneer Press Deanna Weniger Minnesotans turned down the thermostat, wrapped themselves in electric blankets, put plastic over their windows and updated their furnaces to cut costs this winter, but in many cases saw no change on their heating bills. “I’ve been a homeowner for eight years. This is the highest…
Published January 25, 2022 For households that heat their home with electric heat, bills can be especially high, running in the hundreds of dollars each month. If you have electric heat as a primary heating source, we encourage you to contact your utility about winter electric heating rates and programs. Electric heat is often the…
January 21, 2022 Energy News Network Frank Jossi Xcel Energy’s proposal to potentially build two new natural gas peaking plants has become a key point of contention in the utility’s long-term resource plan currently before Minnesota utility regulators. The two natural gas combustion turbine plants are part of Xcel’s integrated resource plan, a document utilities…
