July 9, 2021 Energy News Network Frank Jossi Efficiency upgrades can be a financial boost for low-income homeowners, but asbestos, mold and other issues sometimes found in older homes can keep those improvements financially out of reach, even with incentives. A new Minnesota law aims to bridge that gap. The state’s existing Conservation Improvement Program…
23Jun
A Good Year for Energy Policy at the Minnesota Legislature
Published June 23, 2021 Yesterday, the Minnesota Senate followed the House of Representatives and passed this year’s package of energy policy and spending legislation. House File 6 combines commerce and energy provisions. (Energy policy is in Article 8 starting on page 98, if you’re digging into the full bill, or you can read a summary…
28May
Minnesota’s new ECO Act will help ease the burdens of energy costs on low-income families, including many people of color
May 28, 2021 Sahan Journal Andrew Hazzard A rare bipartisan bill aims to help Minnesota lower emissions while offering significant savings for low-income families, including many people of color. Governor Tim Walz signed the Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act into law May 25. The bill modernizes the state’s Conservation Improvement Program, a long-term energy-…
26May
Legislature passes ECO Act to update energy conservation programs
Published May 26, 2021 On May 17, the Minnesota legislature passed the first major energy reform in more than a decade. The Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act will provide more options for Minnesotans to reduce their energy use, costs, and environmental impact. The bill updates the state’s long-standing and successful Conservation Improvement Program and…
20May
2021 MN Legislature: ECO Act passes thanks to hard work, collaboration
May 20, 2021 Center for Energy and Environment Mike Bull Minnesota’s regular legislative session ended on May 18 with the biggest clean energy win since 2013, strengthening our most successful energy policy in state history. After six years of hard work and deep bipartisan collaboration, the Energy Conservation and Optimization Act (known as “ECO”) was…
19May
Minnesota legislators agree on first major energy bill in years
May 18, 2021 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett The Minnesota House and Senate agreed this week on expanding the state’s energy conservation program, the most significant energy legislation in recent years. The Energy Conservation and Optimization Act should increase spending by utilities on conservation programs, particularly to low-income households. Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign…
23Apr
Minnesota gasps at the financial damage it faces from the Texas freeze
April 22, 2021 The Washington Post Will Englund When that big freeze hit Texas in February, the Lone Star State couldn’t help but share its pain. With its ill-equipped natural gas systems clocked by the cold, Texas’s exports across the Rio Grande froze up and 4.7million customers in northern Mexico went without electricity — more…
02Apr
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…
20Mar
Minnesota lawmakers look to help customers deal with natural gas price spike
March 18, 2021 MinnPost Walker Orenstein The severe cold in the southern U.S. last month will result in higher natural gas bills for a huge swath of Minnesotans. In response, a pair of Minnesota lawmakers have introduced a bill at the Legislature to help low-income people shoulder the extra costs. The new measure would distribute…
17Mar
February cold snap could cost CenterPoint customers additional $354, plus interest
March 17, 2021 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett CenterPoint Energy is proposing to spread the cost of a colossal natural gas price spike — $354 per household on average — over two years to help cushion the blow to Minnesota consumers and the company itself. The deep freeze that paralyzed Texas last month ignited U.S. wholesale…