Because the Climate Legacy Initiative passed by the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor unanimously in 2023, the City is finally funding local climate action at a scale needed to build momentum toward meeting the ambitious goals the city has on paper. This means it is time for a revived nudge to city leaders to make sure renters can be included in its benefits. Community Power has long been bringing attention to making energy efficiency programs more accessible to renters since we held listening sessions back in 2015 with the Corcoran Neighborhood organization from which the following policy ideas were developed. 

Following the Policy Ideas for the City to adopt there are a few points to ground them in:

1) Energy efficiency is a big livability and affordability issue for renters.

2) InquilinXs UnidXs recently has had an incredible win with properties involved in AG Ellison's lawsuit

3) Inclusive Financing for Energy Efficiency could remove the upfront cost and credit barriers if it is given a chance

In addition to TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase) a top policy recommendation is Prohibiting Rationed Utility Billing Systems (RUBS) at single-metered rental properties:

The city of Minneapolis should consider Prohibiting Rationed Utility Billing Systems (RUBS) at single-metered rental properties by amending Minneapolis ordinance 244.270 liability for utility service payments so that the landlord may only pass on the utility costs at single-metered buildings by including it into the rent or installing sub-meters so that the energy bills for each tenant reflects their usage. In Chapter 244.270, (the section listed for liability for rationed utility billing systems at single-metered rental properties), there have been no changes to this section of municipal code since the listening sessions in 2017. 

We are pleased to share that a St. Paul Green New Deal Resolution has been drafted by Sunrise Twin Cities and shared with city councilmembers. 

Sunrise TC, the local hub for a national youth climate justice movement, has also been reaching out to organizations including Community Power.    

Here is the full text of the resolution as well as the cliff notes version / outline of the resolution.    

Because the text of the Green New Deal resolution is so thorough in policy ideas, as well as in its general vision for climate justice in Saint Paul, advancing the resolution would help the city in updating its Climate Action and Resilience Plan, due later this year.

Pre-recorded video (very convenient!) or written comments were due on August 9th getting extended by 6 weeks). See link here for any potential updates!)

*** All public Comments submitted until June 28th at 4:30 PM in any form will be summarized by a neutral administrative law judge and sent to the MN Public Utilities Commission in a report by August 19th. ***   

Since Xcel also has to make the case for how they will meet our energy needs in coming years, this is where we get to see the mix of renewable versus nonrenewable energy sources the utility currently has in mind for their customers in Minnesota with big implications for climate. 

Along with this process came a series of public hearings for the general public to be able to hear each other weigh in. The public hearings on this docket happened between June 10th and June 20th. Community Power spoke at 5 out of 8 of them. Many thanks to the Office of Administrative Hearings and staff from the PUC, The Department of Commerce, Xcel Energy and the Office of the Attorney General for helping make these opportunities happen as well as the open house prior to each in-person public hearing. 

Top messaging points for why Xcel should minimize fossil gas plants: 

1. Minnesota’s climate goals say we must be carbon neutral by 2050 across all sectors. Bringing new gas generation online puts that into jeopardy.
2. Methane is around 80 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere, so even a small amount of unintentional methane leakage from pipes poses a climate risk.
3. New gas plants create a "lock-in" effect for greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when a rapid switch to renewables is crucial, constructing new gas plants and infrastructure, as a principle, will entrench our reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels for decades to come.
4. Minnesotans should instead be shielded from the volatile trends of the gas market, and be provided with clean, reliable, and secure energy at consistent and affordable prices.
5. The above reasons are why we should encourage Xcel to maximize the Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, Energy Storage components of their plan. 

(Photo Credit, Patty O'Keefe, Sierra Club)                           (Photo Credit Brian Krohnke, Community Power)

What is in Xcel's Plan? 

For a brief summary on what is at stake Xcel Energy announced in February that their preferred 15-year plan includes: 

• extending the 20-year operating extensions for the Prairie Island nuclear facility by 20 years (beyond 2033-34). 
• adding two new gas peaker plants, "2,200 megawatts of what Xcel called "always-available" power by 2030"
  • "Last week, the company proposed building a gas plant in Cass County in North Dakota and another in Minnesota's Lyon County; they would begin operating in 2027 and 2028" (both would be peakers. 
  • This will be heavily scrutinized by clean energy organizations in terms of Xcel’s ability to meet Minnesota's new carbon-free by 2040 law and likely settled in a different docket.  

On the renewable front Xcel's 15 year plan thus far also includes:

• By 2023, it would seek 3,200 megawatts of new wind, 400 megawatts of large-scale solar and 1,000 megawatts of solar from other sources, including small-scale community projects.
• Battery storage - 600 megawatts of battery storage by 2030, "aside from its plans for a novel 10 megawatt, 100-hour battery system at its Sherco energy complex in Becker"
• Expansion of the utility’s energy efficiency and demand response programs, although existing demand response aggregation docket suggests Xcel is not really using demand response resource.

For additional reference, see Xcel's own webpage about their own Upper Midwest Energy Plan here.  

Please click below for some more interesting messaging points & background !

As the state's largest gas utility CenterPoint Energy is required by state law to file a Natural Gas Innovation Act Plan. Within it, CenterPoint has proposed 18 different pilot projects to make customer homes and businesses less reliant on fossil gas. While some of the pilots merit support and PUC approval (particularly Pilots L, N and I), other NGIA pilots should be opposed (Pilot P) or modified to be in the public interest.

What is at Stake? 

Because CenterPoint customers will be asked to pay for the NGIA pilots through a rider on our utility bills, it is important that we avoid Innovation Act Plan that commits customers to paying for diversionary solutions for decades. 

In 3 easy steps, you can submit a Comment by March 15th (Final Deadline May 15th). 

1: Send an email to [email protected]
2: Reference "Docket 23-215" in the subject line
3: Deadline 4:30 p.m. on 3/15/24

For a deeper guide for crafting your comments, here are some that the City of Minneapolis and the Citizens Utility Board have submitted as well as the Clean Heat Fact Sheet. 

Click below to see more.

The MN Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has gone forward with Xcel's proposal to alter the bill credit rate for subscribers to early community solar projects, with some modifications. The MN PUC also decided on a 3-cent adder for residential subscribers to solar gardens whose bill credits had been covered under the Applicable Retail Rate, which is to last for an indefinite period. The MN PUC also included a 1 cent adder for general service subscribers for one year. These changes are supposed to take effect 4/1/25. The 3-cent adder though, is not enough to make residential subscribers whole and it also no longer shadows the retail rate (what you pay the utility) which eliminates the guarantee of rate savings. The PUC order has not been posted yet but we will include the link when it does. 

For more coverage of this story:

• See Twitter thread from John Farrell, explaining the hidden conflict of interest motives behind this decision.
• See the live tweets from Community Power during the hearing.
• See the Sahan Journal Article with Community Power and partners quoted: Minnesota regulators slash reimbursement rate for community solar gardens by Andrew Hazzard, February 15, 2024 State officials say they are cutting the solar compensation to save money for Xcel customers, but solar advocates warn the change will stunt clean energy growth.