CUB 2024 Year in Review

As the year comes to a close, I want to thank you for supporting the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota. The CUB community is a scrappy group, often going up against some of the largest corporations in the state (and beyond) – and winning. We are Minnesotans dedicated to affordability, corporate accountability, and the decarbonization of our energy systems – and we are making an impact. 

CUB’s work is made possible by contributions from people like you. If you appreciate CUB’s work and want to see it continue, please support the nonprofit with a donation today.

Here’s some of what we’ve achieved together:

• We’ve helped save Minnesotans $320 million. At the Public Utilities Commission, we’ve held the line against excessive profits, cost overruns, and other unfair utility charges, saving money for people in nearly all of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Our advocacy in 2024 will likely help save customers of Xcel and CenterPoint an additional $27 million in avoided rate increases, pending final regulatory approval.
• We’ve served 18,000 Minnesotans, bringing bill savings, shutoff protections, home electrification strategies, and other advice to households across the state, through individual conversations and partnerships with dozens of local organizations. You’ll find us all over Minnesota in 2025, with a particular focus on rural areas, where weatherization and air source heat pumps can really pay off.
• We’re fighting to decarbonize Minnesota’s energy systems, with special attention on heating. This year, CUB successfully led the push to require transparent, longer-term planning by gas utilities. The first gas “integrated resource plan” will be filed in 18 months. In the meantime, we’re working with community members, utilities, and others to fight for a rapid, safe, and equitable transition to clean heat that protects renters, lower-income households, and all utility ratepayers.
• We’ve won protections for Minnesotans who are past-due on their utility bills. This year, CUB and the Energy CENTS Coalition negotiated with Xcel to substantially improve the company’s treatment of past-due customers. Xcel will reduce the amount of its requested down payments by up to 80%, or more if household circumstances require. In approving this agreement, the PUC affirmed that every Minnesotan has a legal right to a payment plan that considers their individual household financial circumstances – so the decision will have impacts for people served by all Minnesota utilities.
• We’ve put utility data to work for the public interest. After five years of advocacy, CUB won the full implementation of Open Data Access Standards at the PUC in 2024. The standards allow local governments consistent access to energy use data needed for climate action planning, and CUB is exploring partnerships with academic researchers to uncover disparities hidden in utility rate designs.
• We’ve won improved weatherization and energy conservation opportunities, including expanding conservation programs for low-income renters and homeowners. CUB is partnering with community-based groups, the University of Minnesota, and State, and the utilities themselves to make these rebates and programs easier to navigate.

We’re proud of what CUB has accomplished, but much more work lies ahead.

As I write this, one in eight Minnesota households is behind on their utility bills, and this number has remained stubbornly high since the pandemic. Worse, service disconnections have skyrocketed. In January through October 2024, regulated utilities have reported shutting off service to more than 85,000 households – already more than any complete year in the decade for which we’ve compiled records. Thousands more are at risk of disconnection before the year is up.

CUB will continue to fight so that utility service is affordable and all Minnesotans are granted shutoff protections guaranteed by state law. Fresh off a rate increase approved in 2023, Xcel Energy is requesting another electric rate hike, including yet another request for excessive shareholder returns. CUB is gearing up to fight this unjustified increase.

We’re scrutinizing the proposed purchase of Minnesota Power by two large institutional investors, including the international behemoth, BlackRock. CUB has partnered with one of the nation’s top legal experts on utility acquisitions to fight for the best interest of ratepayers in central and northern Minnesota.

We’re working together with utilities, service providers, and advocates for low-income Minnesotans to push for an expanded Energy Assistance program that provides year-round relief to households in need. The program provides vital relief to thousands during the heating season – but only a quarter of eligible households receive assistance, and it is not available during the summer, when households are most likely to face shutoffs. We’re fighting to make sure everyone has a safe and comfortable home year-round.

We’re continuing to push for clean heat – eliminating indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from burning gas in our homes. As gas use declines due to weatherization and efficient appliances like air source heat pumps, gas utility rates will have to go up to cover utilities’ ever-increasing spending. In an upcoming PUC proceeding on the Future of Gas and in other venues, we’ll continue to push regulators to start planning today for careful, equitable, and rapid decarbonization. 

While utilities can employ multitudes of lobbyists to sit at the legislature and the Public Utilities Commission, most Minnesotans can’t easily speak up in these forums. That is why we need you: to help us be a voice for regular people in energy decision making.

With your backing, CUB will be there to ensure Minnesotans are represented through 2025 and beyond. As always, thank you for your continued support.