In the News
Republican legislators take aim at Public Utilities Commission
February 1, 2017 MinnPost By Briana Bierschbach With complete control of the Minnesota Legislature, Republicans are taking early aim this session at a little-discussed state commission that has a big say on energy issues. Republicans have introduced a half-dozen bills that would change the power and makeup of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, a five-member…
Minnesota law would set precedent for unregulated monopolies
February 1, 2017 / Forbes Xcel Energy, an investor-owned utility based in Minneapolis, is about to make the deal of the century thanks to pork barrel politics in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. In January, the Minnesota Public Utility Commission, which regulates the state’s utility monopolies, said it would initiate a proceeding to examine the…
Consumer group opposes Xcel bill to bypass regulatory process for new power plant
January 27, 2017 WCCO News Radio CUB’s executive director Annie Levenson-Falk was on the air with Roshini Rajkumar (in for the usual Friday evening host Jordana Green) to discuss why an Xcel Energy proposal to skip consumer protections before building a new natural gas power plant is a bad deal for ratepayers. No related posts.
Business, consumer groups bash Minnesota utility’s push for new natural gas plant
January 18, 2017 Midwest Energy News A group of large industrial users joined consumer advocates in decrying a bill that would permit Xcel Energy to build a 786 megawatt combined cycle natural gas plant without regulatory approval. The gas plant, likely to cost more than $1 billion, would replace two coal-fired units at Xcel…
Bill would allow new Xcel natural gas plant in Becker
January 17, 2017 St. Cloud Times A bill under consideration at the state Capitol would allow Xcel Energy to build a new natural gas power plant in Sherburne County to replace energy from the Sherco coal plant in Becker. But opponents say it would bypass the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which declined last year to…