Blog
Welcome Brandon Crawford, CUB’s new regulatory advocate
Brandon joined the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota in June 2021 as a summer legal intern and has since joined CUB full-time as a Policy and Regulatory Advocate. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in May 2022 with a concentration in Environmental and Energy Law. While in law school, Brandon helped draft…
Public hearings scheduled for Xcel Energy’s electric rate case
Updated September 29, 2022 (Additional public hearings added); Published August 17, 2022 Last year, Xcel Energy filed a request to increase electric rates by more than 20 percent. If you are an Xcel customer, you are already seeing a 6.4 percent interim rate increase on your bills, which is in effect as the Public Utilities…
Otter Tail Power to offer affordability discount to qualifying customers
Published July 26, 2022 Otter Tail Power will soon offer an electricity bill discount to income-qualified customers after the company’s proposal was approved by the Public Utilities Commission last week. With this approval, all of Minnesota’s investor owned utilities will now offer affordability programs for customers with low incomes. Otter Tail’s program, called Uplift, will…
Tips and safety during power outages
Published July 12, 2022 Summer and winter can both bring unpredictable weather, and Minnesota has its fair share of sudden thunderstorms, snowstorms, and high winds that can damage electrical lines. Power outages can be stressful, uncomfortable, and even dangerous. Here are some tips to prepare for and safely navigate power outages. If you or someone…
Cryptocurrency mining’s risk to Otter Tail’s ratepayers
Published July 11, 2022 In September 2021, the North Dakota Public Service Commission approved a service agreement to provide energy for a new cryptocurrency mining facility in Jamestown, North Dakota. However, this new facility will become Otter Tail Power’s second largest customer and will draw twice as much energy as the entire city that it…