Published August 17, 2021 During the earlier stages of the pandemic, some utilities were prohibited from disconnecting consumers. As of August 2, all of Minnesota’s utilities are allowed to resume disconnections for past-due bills. If you are behind on your bills, here’s what you need to know. Call your utility and ask to arrange a…
Published August 11, 2021 Staying in that sweet spot where comfort meets energy savings is an art, and it’s been a hot summer so far. Cooling down is a huge part of your energy bill during the year and, given the heat, we thought we’d give you some tools to lower both your energy bill…
Published August 11, 2021 Over President’s Day Weekend 2021, four of Minnesota’s natural gas utilities (CenterPoint, Xcel, MERC, and Great Plains) collectively incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in extraordinary costs providing natural gas to their Minnesota customers. Normally, extraordinary costs (those that exceed what utilities had budgeted for when setting rates) are passed through…
Published August 3, 2021 After several years of study and analysis, Minnesota Power has received approval to transition residential customers to a new electric rate called a time-of-day (TOD) rate. The cost per kWh to customers would vary based on the time of day the energy is consumed. This transition will not happen immediately but instead…
Published July 27, 2021 As a member of the Metro CERTs Steering Committee, I am excited to share that CERTs has launched their calls for 2021 grant proposals. CERTs will be accepting applications across the state, organized into seven regions. There is plenty of time to get your applications in; the due date is October…
Published July 7, 2021 Xcel Energy began its Flex Pricing Pilot program in November 2020. Participants in the program are charged different electricity rates based on the time of day they use energy. The program is underway in areas around south Minneapolis and Eden Prairie until November 2022. Summer, when demand for electricity is greatest,…
Published July 6, 2021 Minnesota Power, the electric utility serving much of northeastern Minnesota, filed its latest Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) in February 2021. CUB continues to participate in the review process and intends to file comments on the IRP this fall. An IRP is a roadmap that public utilities use to analyze and model…
Published July 6, 2021 Humidity plays a big part in the comfort and overall health of homes. High indoor humidity levels in the summer could potentially increase energy bills too. High humidity makes us feel warmer in the summer (and colder in the winter), causing us to cool (or heat) our homes more than we…
Published June 28, 2021. Updated July 7, 2021 with information about comment process. On Friday, Xcel Energy announced that it was no longer pursuing its proposed natural gas power plant in Sherburne County (the “Sherco plant”). Xcel said it heard strong opposition to the plant (including from CUB) and took another look to find an…
Published June 23, 2021 Yesterday, the Minnesota Senate followed the House of Representatives and passed this year’s package of energy policy and spending legislation. House File 6 combines commerce and energy provisions. (Energy policy is in Article 8 starting on page 98, if you’re digging into the full bill, or you can read a summary…
