Minnesota Public Utilities Commission affirms decision that utilities must share in the costs of 2021 gas price spike

Published December 14, 2022

Last week, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) affirmed its decision that gas utilities must share in the costs of a severe natural gas price spike that occurred in February of last year. Winter Storm Uri, which occurred over Presidents’ Day weekend in February 2021, froze natural gas infrastructure in Texas and caused natural gas prices to spike to extremely high levels. Minnesota’s gas utilities—CenterPoint Energy, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation (MERC), and Great Plains Natural Gas Co.—spent approximately $660 million over the long weekend to provide natural gas to their customers. MERC entered into a settlement agreement and agreed not to seek recovery of $3 million of its costs. In August 2022, the PUC determined that the rest of the gas utilities could have avoided spending approximately $60 million during the storm and prevented them from recovering those costs from ratepayers. 

The gas utilities continued their legal battle in November by filing petitions for reconsideration. If these petitions were granted, the PUC would have reevaluated whether to let the utilities recover the $60 million previously disallowed. Instead, the PUC affirmed its decision and denied their requests. While the gas utilities could still appeal to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, the PUC has sent a strong message that actions must be taken to balance the safety and reliability of the energy system with the need for just, reasonable, and affordable rates.