Join CUB for the 2020 Consumers Celebration Un-Event

Published May 11, 2020

Thank you for being a supporter of the Citizens Utility Board. Right now, I’d expected to be planning CUB’s fourth-anniversary Consumers Celebration event. We’re disappointed, but we’ve come to terms with the fact that the in-person event is not going to happen this year.

But just because we’re physically apart doesn’t mean we can’t come together as energy consumers. Please join CUB’s board, staff, and myself for our 2020 Consumers Celebration Un-Event.

Between now and June 2 (when we would have been together), we’re looking back over CUB’s accomplishments in the past year and looking forward to the opportunities ahead. And, yes, I am asking for your support.

Donate now and your contribution will be doubled!

Help us earn $3,750 in matching funds. All contributions between now and June 2 will be matched thanks to the generous donations of the Great Plains Institute, Fredrikson & Byron P.A., Macalester College, Minnesota Farmers Union, and the CUB Board of Directors.

Because of the support from people like you, in 2019 CUB:

• Blocked a bill to increase electric bills by $467 million for residential energy consumers.
• Helped more than 2,200 consumers cut their energy bills, reduce their carbon emissions, and understand the latest in energy policy and trends at more than 100 locations around Minnesota.
• Stopped risky, long-term investments in fossil fuels, like Xcel’s proposed purchase of a power plant, advocating for more reliance on inexpensive renewables, efficiency, and other clean energy sources.
• Helped the average household save $150 and 1,300 pounds of carbon each year through individual energy consultations.

And we have a lot more in the works, including:

• Advancing the Consumers Resource Plan, a cleaner and cheaper plan for Xcel’s electricity generation through intervention at the Public Utilities Commission, and gearing up to do the same for Minnesota Power.  
• Advancing energy data access for the public interest through a formal request to the PUC.
• Defending Xcel and Minnesota Power customers against coming rate hike proposals.
• Pushing for equal access to energy conservation in rural Minnesota.
• Continuing to serve Minnesotans with call-in utility bill clinics and remote energy consultations.

In this time of special challenges, clean, affordable, and fair energy options are needed more than ever. In recent weeks, much of CUB’s team has refocused on serving the people who are most impacted by COVID-19. The crisis has put a spotlight on the inequities that already existed in our energy system based on income, geography, and race and ethnicity – and, in doing so, also gives us an opportunity to act. CUB is:

• Advocating for a moratorium on utility disconnections and the longer-term policies needed for people to get back on their feet when the Stay At Home order is lifted.
• Working with consumers to bring to light the areas where people are struggling and publicly acknowledge the utilities that are extending special flexibility when it is so needed, though testimony to the legislature, Public Utilities Commission, and the attention of the media.
• Pushing for policies, programs and funding so that everyone can have essential energy service that is affordable, efficient, and clean.

Supporters like you fuel CUB’s impact. Please make a contribution today to keep this work going. We greatly appreciate any donation you are able to make during this time.