By JOHN FARRELL |May 23, 2019 at 12:33 am     

https://www.twincities.com/2019/05/23/john-farrell-lets-look-more-closely-at-the-xcel-deal-on-closing-coal-plants/

Earlier this week, Xcel Energy announced an agreement with several environmental organizations over its upcoming 15-year resource plan. Highlights include early retirement of its coal plants, new solar commitments, and buying a fracked-gas plant. While there are several significant wins for Minnesota’s health, environment, climate goals, and energy customers, it comes at a high cost for measures that the state’s utility regulators should require of the utility without concession.

Xcel shareholders make out handsomely. The monopoly utility wins a cease fire over its proposal to purchase an existing gas plant in Mankato. Taken together with the proposed Becker gas plant that it won through legislative hijinks two years ago, the projects will add well over $1 billion to the company’s rate base — the capital expenses that the utility’s shareholders earn profits on.

Xcel Energy has teamed up with a research organization called E3 to model 18 different scenarios for our long-term energy future. Xcel hired E3 to help them craft their 15-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which Xcel Energy has a July 1st deadline to release.

On April 17^th, E3 presented the study conclusions to a room of Xcel Employees and stakeholders who are closely following Xcel’s integrated resource planning process.     See Full slideshow here. 

Xcel will release a sneak preview of the 15-year plan the company prefers on May 20^th which will provide us with some new updates. But until then, here are the Main Takeaways from E3’s April 17^th presentation:   (Below )

This past April Fool’s day, Community Power and Partners performed a street theater of a press conference. We drew attention toward Xcel Energy intending to sink $650 million ratepayer dollars into purchasing a Mankato natural gas plant. Mr. Monopoly in costume, spoke for Xcel and gave a prepared statement to the public and press: “We are overanxious to be able to give this vision and long-term debt with the Minnesota public." While the press conference was of course satirical, the script did involve actual direct quotes from Xcel CEO Ben Fowke, Xcel Govt Affairs Lobbyist Rick Evans, and recent Xcel Regulatory Consultant James Albers.

Click Image above for the final cut of the video !

Watch the full You Tube version of the video or the full Livestream or the of our press conference performance outside Xcel Headquarters April 1st, or read the full transcript below. There's also the livestream here from a more front-facing angle: http://bit.ly/2OF0KJV

Comments to the MN Public Utilities Commission on the Mankato Natural gas plant proposal will close on April 30^th. It was preceded by numerous comments opposing the purchase and news coverage from Frank Jossi of Midwest Energy News.

The following day on April 2^nd, Xcel Energy officials also stated their case for the Mankato Gas Plant acquisition (see full quote on blogpost) during an event where the public was invited to give feedback and questions to Xcel on its on its to-be-released long-term energy plan.

Click below for the Full Transcript ! 

Late last year, Community Power's submitted comments to state regulators that Xcel’s stakeholder engagement sessions should not be held exclusively during work hours on a weekdays in order to be more accessible to a wider range of interested individuals.

Likely in response to this comment, Xcel Energy held a "non-technical public informational session the evening of Tuesday April 2nd at the Wilder Center in Saint Paul. (See Facebook Event Page)  Xcel Intended for the event to be held in January but it was postponed twice due to unfortunate timing with weather circumstances. 

On the website they created for the event, Xcel stated the company would provide an introduction to their 15-year energy plan for Minnesota and “give members of the public an opportunity to provide feedback and learn how to get involved on an ongoing basis”.

Xcel is required by the state to come up with a 15-year energy plan that looks at a wide range of scenarios of ways how they can meet customers’ energy needs for the years 2019-2034. As an organization, we want to ensure the scenarios Xcel studies includes giving a fair consideration for distributed renewable energy generation as well as questioning whether a utility with a 100% carbon free goal should be buying new natural gas plants . 

The open house event ended up being great opportunity to ask Xcel questions about its plans for the future with a good attendance from community members eager to share what they would like to see.

Photo of the years Xcel currently plans to retire a number of their thermal baseload plants. 

To learn more about what Xcel’s Resource Plan is, what is at stake, why it matters and what we deserve from Xcel, click here. 

To read some highlights on what we heard from Xcel on April 2nd, click below. 

In 2018 in coalition and in community, we have:  

• Ensured $2-3 million in equitable climate funding from the City of Minneapolis each year;
• Advanced inclusive energy financing into a stakeholder-led study process;
• Defeated a “blank check” for monopoly utility’s nuclear plants;
• Signed up 10 Twin Cities residents and 15 southern Minnesota organizations and households for cooperatively-owned community solar

Mr. Monopoly asking for signatures at the Capitol

for his Blank Check for Nuclear

These successes took time to cultivate, but we know this is urgent but patient, long-haul work...

Together, these wins were fought for by influencing city decision-makers, adding community voices to Xcel’s 15-year energy plan, intervening in key Public Utilities Commission decisions that affect the viability of true energy democracy and climate action, and building a culture of care, trust, and solidarity.  

Next year, we plan to continue the work with staff, volunteers, and coalition partners:

• Launching work in St. Paul to ensure a similar focus on equity in the city’s Climate Action Plan and to develop low-income accessible community solar on several neighborhood schools
• Working with elected officials and city staff to expand funding for equitable climate work locally
• Collaborating with networks of community organizations to deepen community savings and knowledge through access to energy efficiency
• Pushing inclusive energy financing from a feasibility study to a program that allows low-income and low-credit residents to access lower energy bills through clean and efficient energy.

Full house at Energy Comedy Night in Minneapolis, covering Xcel's plans for our next 15 years of energy in Minnesota

On behalf of the Community Power Board & Staff: THANK YOU for your support - looking forward to tackling new challenges in this new year. You can sustain this work here, or sign up to get on the mailing list for next events, volunteer opportunities, and calls to action by emailing [email protected].