Published July 28, 2017 On Thursday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted 3-2 in favor of raising the cost of air pollutants from power plants: carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate pollution. The value receiving the most attention is the updated social cost of carbon emissions, increasing to a range of $9.05 to…
11Jun
2017 Legislative Recap: Moving backwards on energy, but worst bills were prevented
Published June 11, 2017 Though the Legislature had been meeting since January 3, almost all of this year’s bills were passed in “omnibus” packages in the final days. After a contention four-day special session, Governor Dayton signed major bills into law on May 30th. With the exception of an early bill for a new Xcel Energy…
30May
Getting Ready for Higher Summer Electric Rates
Published May 30, 2017 With the Memorial Day weekend comes the unofficial start to the Minnesota summer. A few days later, on June 1, higher summer electric rates begin for Xcel customers and continue through September. (Lower winter rates are in effect from October through May.) Residential electric rates go up in the summer to…
24May
Some improvements, but legislature’s energy bill is still bad for rural Minnesotans
Published May 24, 2017 On Monday, the legislature sent a revised omnibus jobs and energy bill to Governor Dayton, including this year’s energy policy provisions. The bill, SF 1456, was the result of negotiations among legislative leadership and the Governor. However, DFL conference committee members reported that the bill contained some items that the governor…
12May
Regulators approve Xcel rate increase
Published May 12, 2017 Yesterday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved a plan under which Xcel residential electricity rates will increase by 10.6 percent over four years. Customers are already paying much of the increase, in a 5.5 percent interim rate increase that went into place in 2016. This is the first multi-year rate plan…
04May
Analysis: Minnesota energy bill would harm consumers
Published May 4, 2017 This week, the Minnesota House and Senate released the latest draft of its package of energy funding and policy bills. The bill would harm Minnesota utility consumers, and CUB urges a “no” vote. The energy package is contained in the broader Jobs omnibus bill (SF 1937). The energy provisions would: Hurt jobs, residential and…
03May
Make your voice heard on proposed Minnesota Power rate increase
Published May 3, 2017 If you follow this blog, you know that Minnesota Power has proposed two rate increases for its electric customers. Here’s an update. Warning: This blog is going to get long. It will cover: Summary of potential rate increases You may be exempt from the EITE rate increase Tell the PUC what…
09Mar
More consideration needed of bill to reduce regulation of new power generation
Published March 9, 2017 A bill before the state Senate Energy and Utilities Committee today would eliminate a step in the regulatory process for constructing new large renewable energy facilities. While there may be ways to streamline regulation without weakening consumer protections, we must fully consider the consequences of a possibly significant change to the way Minnesota handles…
01Mar
Governor Dayton signs law allowing new Xcel plant without usual regulatory review
Published March 1, 2017 Yesterday, Governor Dayton signed into law the bill allowing Xcel Energy to build a new natural gas power plant in Sherburne County without the usual regulatory review. The bill, described in this Star Tribune article, will give Xcel permission to build the new plant at its existing Sherco generating station. Two…
09Feb
Governor Dayton would sign Senate bill for new Xcel power plant
Published February 9, 2017 According to a statement issued today, Governor Dayton expects to sign HF 113/SF 85 as amended in the Senate last week. The bill allows Xcel Energy to build a new power plant in Becker, without going through the normal certificate of need review by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). CUB initially opposed the…