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].

Back in July 2016, the MN Pubic Utilities Commission reduced the rates which Community Solar Garden subscribers would be compensated but not by as much as Xcel was requesting. The PUC's decision was to switch the methodology for determining compensation for CSG subscribers to the Value of Solar (VOS). 

This change made it more difficult for future Community Solar Project to become accessible and equitable in Community Power’s terms without a residential adder to the credits. 

Finally after 2 years, the MN Public Utilities Commission finally issued a decision about a residential adder on October 11^th, 2018

They gave a 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour boost to subscribers of Community Solar projects started in 2019 or 2020.

 While this adder was certainly better than nothing, it was not significant enough to make residential community solar projects easily pencil. Reason is because the "Value of Solar" changes each year and Xcel’s proposed 2019 revision to the value of solar would reduce compensation to residential Community Solar Gardens by almost that same amount 1.5 cent amount. 

The value of solar is a complex calculation which Xcel Energy made based on  methodology which the PUC itself approved. This makes a good case for the Value of Solar methodology to come under review   so that the utility will not be allowed to pay too little for valuable solar energy. 

On November 27^th, 2018 Community Power manifested an innovative event idea by partnering with the Theater of Public Policy for an Energy Comedy Night. We had been planning to hold a public event about generating community input into Xcel Energy’s 15-year integrated resource plan (IRP)  their statement of how they plan to meet customer energy needs over the next 15 years. 

We figured adding in a cast of improv comedians from the Theater of Public Policy would add some entertainment value to an event about utility planning. The idea proved to be an overall success as we got robust attendance.

The suspense about how to draw comedy out of the IRP process and big institutional questions regarding energy was part of the event’s appeal. 

XCEL STAKEHOLDER SESSIONS ORIGINALLY MOTIVATED THE EVENT

Xcel Energy will release their IRP draft on July 1^st of 2019. A final version of the IPR will have to get approved by the MN Public Utilities Commission. Power plants representing 65% of Xcel’s generation in Minnesota are scheduled to retire in the 15 years. The mix of energy resources Xcel decides to replaces this generation capacity with has crucial implications for Minnesota meeting its Climate and Clean Energy goals. That makes Xcel’s next IRP be considered the “SuperBowl of IRPs”.

UPCOMING PROGRAM LAUNCH, CREDIT SCORE BARRIER

CenterPoint Energy will soon be launching its On-Bill Loan Repayment program.  While this is certainly a step in the right direction, it has one key limitation that comes from it being a loan-based program.

Centerpoint will contract the programs' lending out to an organization that has a policy of not making loans to utility customers with a credit score below 600 (see top of page 4 of this docket). That makes the work of Community Power and Partners on pursuing an inclusive financing option (as defined by the Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership), all the more essential, so that energy savings and home comfort can be accessible to all regardless of credit score. 

Above is a photo of me caught in the moment performing some Credit Score Limbo. With a Credit Score of 690, you can see my combined expression of exasperation and relief as I managed to barely clear the limbo bar. I narrowly avoided having to pay a 2% higher interest rate than I would have if I was below 680. But as you can see below, I felt a bit lonesome when not all of my friends could join me.