Published January 19, 2021 CUB is recommending that three Minnesota gas utilities be required to cover $220 million in costs incurred during the storm of February 2021. Last February, Minnesota’s gas utilities spent over $600 million more than usual on gas supplies due to a brief but extreme spike in the price of natural gas…
Published January 7, 2022 If you receive natural gas or electricity service from Xcel Energy, you’ll notice an interim rate increase on your next bill. Before the holidays, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the increases, beginning January 1, but at substantially lower amounts than Xcel initially requested. An interim rate hike is a…
Published November 10, 2021 As they say: when it rains, it pours. On top of already high natural gas prices — and in addition to rate hike filings by Minnesota Power and Xcel’s electricity business — the state’s two largest natural gas utilities have also requested to increase their base rates of providing service. In…
November 1, 2021 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Minnesota’s largest natural-gas providers — CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy — Monday asked regulators for a rate increase of about 6.5 %, in standard requests that this year would add to costs that are already soaring for other reasons. Sharp increases in the commodity cost of gas are…
Published November 2, 2021 Many Minnesotans have recently seen, or will soon see, their natural gas bills dramatically increase. This presents a huge concern for many households – particularly those already struggling to make ends meet in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic. There are a few reasons for these bill increases. First, natural…
October 22, 2021 Sahan Journal Andrew Hazzard Minnesotans will spend more on heating bills this winter, experts and government officials say, but there is also more funding available to help low-income households cover costs. A rise in global natural gas prices combined with market hangovers from a deep-freeze in Texas earlier this year means that…
Extra-high natural gas prices plus ongoing effects of last winter’s extraordinary price spike could combine for an expensive winter Published October 18, 2021 St. Paul, MN – The Citizens Utility Board is warning Minnesotans that it could be an expensive heating season. Natural gas prices have risen dramatically nationwide. The monthly average price is roughly as high as it’s been…
Published on October 18, 2021 It could be an expensive heating season. Natural gas prices have risen dramatically nationwide. The monthly average price is roughly as high as it’s been at any point over the last seven years. The prices of propane and fuel oil are also surging, and Minnesotans should anticipate feeling it in…
Published September 8, 2021 It will be a busy fall at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. This blog post provides a brief overview of the policy and regulatory work CUB expects to be involved in over the next several months. There are already numerous complex dockets underway before the Commission, including several unique dockets arising…
Published August 11, 2021 Over President’s Day Weekend 2021, four of Minnesota’s natural gas utilities (CenterPoint, Xcel, MERC, and Great Plains) collectively incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in extraordinary costs providing natural gas to their Minnesota customers. Normally, extraordinary costs (those that exceed what utilities had budgeted for when setting rates) are passed through…
