Blog
PUC approves Xcel program to forgive bills of customers who owe at least $1,000
Published April 6, 2021 Back in December 2020, I wrote a blog about a program Xcel proposed to partially forgive unpaid utility bills of Minnesota customers who are among the farthest past-due on their bills. The “Payment Plan Credit Proposal” was one of several proposals Xcel made in the “Economic Recovery docket,” which the Public…
CUB recommends the Commission deny CenterPoint’s proposed investment in advanced meters
Published April 5, 2021 CenterPoint Energy has asked Minnesota regulators for permission to begin installing smart meters to serve its residential natural gas customers. However, CenterPoint provided very little justification for charging customers the hefty price of these advanced meters and has not demonstrated that the value to customers will be worth the expense. For…
Commission denies Minnesota Power petition to defer accounting of lost revenues
Published April 5, 2021 Back in January, I wrote a blog about Minnesota Power’s efforts to take a procedural step towards recovering revenue losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a nutshell, the Company sought the Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC) permission to calculate the amount of revenue it lost when two of its large industrial…
Not just a Texas problem: Minnesotans will be paying for the recent natural gas spike, too
Published April 2, 2021 Two weeks ago, I wrote about proposed legislation to help consumers weather a dramatic spike in the price of natural gas that occurred in February. The issue is moving forward in both the legislative and regulatory arenas, so I am back with an update. The severe cold weather that hit Texas…
Renewable energy programs
Published April 1, 2021 There are more and more tangible ways for consumers to reduce the environmental impact of their household energy usage. On top of maximizing energy efficiency, households also have many options when it comes to using renewable energy resources. Not all households may be able to install rooftop solar panels or subscribe…