Published January 13, 2023 Over the course of the past year, Minnesotans have seen the impact of higher natural gas prices on their utility bills. As outlined in several of CUB’s prior blog posts, affordability programs are available to utility customers to help them manage the costs of these bills and allow them to keep…
Published January 10, 2023 CUB is pleased to have played an important role in a new regulatory development: Minnesota will now require its three largest natural gas utilities to file integrated resource plans (IRPs)! This blog post provides an overview of how this requirement arose and why it matters. On September 15, 2022, Minnesota’s four largest…
Published December 14, 2022 Last week, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) affirmed its decision that gas utilities must share in the costs of a severe natural gas price spike that occurred in February of last year. Winter Storm Uri, which occurred over Presidents’ Day weekend in February 2021, froze natural gas infrastructure in Texas and…
Published December 14, 2022 Last year, Xcel Energy filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to increase rates for its Minnesota electric customers. Because the process for evaluating whether these new rates should be allowed (i.e. a “rate case”) takes time, Minnesota law allows Xcel to increase electricity rates on a temporary basis…
December 7, 2022 MPR News Kirsti Marohn Xcel Energy has dropped a controversial request for a $122 million electric rate increase next year. Minnesota’s largest electric utility, which serves 1.3 million customers in Minnesota, requested to raise rates about 21 percent over three years. Last year, the state Public Utilities Commission granted Xcel an interim…
Published November 28, 2022 Earlier this month, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved Minnesota Power’s plans for the future of its energy system. As required by law, Minnesota Power’s latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) provides a roadmap for how the utility will meet its electricity demand over the next 15 years. Throughout the IRP…
Published November 23, 2022 On September 23, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) accepted and adopted a settlement that established increased rates for CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas (CenterPoint) customers. Residential customers will see the interim rate of 3.9 percent which went into effect on January 1, 2022, become permanent. Below is a brief summary and…
November 9, 2022 Star Tribune Mike Hughlett Minnesota’s two largest gas utilities are challenging a state ruling prohibiting them from together charging consumers $55 million for costs incurred during a 2021 winter storm. CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy on Tuesday asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to “reconsider” its August decision, which faulted the two utilities…
Published October 27, 2022 Last year, Xcel Energy filed a request with state regulators to charge its Minnesota electric customers an additional $677 million over the coming years. In its filing, Xcel addresses several reasons why it seeks to raise rates. For example, Xcel notes that it will be incurring additional costs to build new…
Published August 22, 2022 Since the fall of 2021, most Minnesotans who receive natural gas from CenterPoint Energy, Xcel Energy, Minnesota Energy Resources (“MERC”), or Great Plains Natural Gas Co. have had an extra surcharge added to their monthly gas bills. These surcharges enable the above utilities to gradually recover approximately $660 million in extraordinary…
