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Xcel residential electric rates to remain the same for another year
Published December 22, 2020 Last Thursday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved an arrangement that will avoid a rate increase for Xcel Energy’s residential customers in 2021. This fall, Xcel filed a “rate case” — a request to increase their base rates by 20 percent — with the PUC. At the time of filing,…
CUB partners with Minnesota Power to analyze bill impacts of proposed rate designs
Published December 7, 2020 This month, CUB and Minnesota Power released the findings of joint research evaluating how real customers’ electricity bills would change under four new rate designs that are under consideration. Over the past several years, Minnesota Power (“MP”) has engaged in a pilot program, stakeholder discussions, and regulatory processes to assess whether…
CUB’s updated strategic plan
Published December 3, 2020 On a Saturday in mid-February of this year, CUB’s staff and board of directors gathered for the day. We shared a meal, reflected on the organization’s growth, and discussed how to best recalibrate our focus in the years to come. That retreat resulted in the updated strategic plan that you see…
PUC approves CUB petition for Open Data Access Standards
Published December 2, 2020 In a written order issued on November 20, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission adopted CUB’s proposed standards for access to energy data. The standards will allow groups like CUB to find ways to reduce costs, reduce emissions, and make rates more fair. In August 2019, CUB filed a petition with the…
CUB recommends that the PUC approve Xcel’s Payment Plan Credit Proposal
Published December 1, 2020 Xcel Energy has proposed a program to forgive unpaid utility bills of Minnesota customers who are among the farthest past-due on their bills. The proposal, initially filed as a part of Xcel’s proposals for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, would forgive 75 percent of the unpaid bills for customers who…