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December 2022 Newsletter
 The PUC is hiring! To learn more about our opportunities, visit the careers webpage.
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Commission Calendar and Upcoming Events
The information below is subject to change. Current information available online at PUC calendar.
Date
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Time
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Event
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Dec 1
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10 AM
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Agenda Meeting: Xcel, Minnesota Power and Otter Tail annual fuel forecast, Expand eligibility for Xcel’s Fleet EV Service Pilot, CenterPoint paperless billing customer initiative
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Dec 2
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10 AM
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Technical Conference: Evaluation of Gas Regulatory and Policy Structure for State Climate Goals (Docket No. 21-565) (hybrid)
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Dec 5
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6 PM
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Public Hearing: Annual public hearing on the Power Plant Siting Act
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Dec 6
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10 AM
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Agenda Meeting: Xcel interim rate increase, MERC rate case,
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Dec 6
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6 PM
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Public Hearing: Relief plan for exhaust of 507 area code (virtual)
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Dec 7
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6 PM
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Public Meeting: GRE T-Line Rebuild near St. Joseph (virtual)
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Dec 8
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6 PM
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Public Meeting: GRE T-Line Rebuild near St. Joseph (in-person)
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Dec 8
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10 AM
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Agenda Meeting: Reconsideration for three utilities on the October 19, 2022, Order disallowing recovery of certain natural gas costs.
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Dec 9
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1:30 PM
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Public Hearing: Xcel Energy rate case (remote access)
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Dec 13
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10 AM
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Planning Meeting: Transmission and interconnection
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Dec 15
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10 AM
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Agenda Meeting: Great Plains Natural Gas Company annual report on Incentive Compensation and Refund Plan; Dakota Electric Association’s requested tariff modification and variance to Minnesota Rule; Commission inquiry into privacy policies of rate-regulated energy utilities, Permanent Service Territory Transfer between the City of North Branch, North Branch Water & Light Commission, and East Central Energy; Otter Tail Power’s 2022 Annual Review of Depreciation Certification
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Dec 16
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10 AM
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MISO quarterly update meeting
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Dec 20
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10 AM
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Planning Meeting: Rates and affordability
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Dec 22
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10 AM
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Agenda Meeting: Complaint by Communications Workers of America against CenturyLink; 2022 TAP Reports Minnesota Power Renewable Resources Rider; CenterPoint Renewable Natural Gas Interconnection Tariff; Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation 2020 Gas Utility Infrastructure Cost Rider True-Up Report
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Notable Commission Decisions or Actions
Filings can be accessed using the docket number at: MN PUC eFiling Search
Nov 2-3, 2022 Actions
Nov 3, 2022 Decisions
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Minnesota Power’s, Otter Tail Power Company’s, and Xcel Energy’s 2021 Annual Safety, Reliability and Service Quality Report and Proposed SAIFI, SAIDI, and CAIDI Reliability Standards for 2022 (22-163, 159, 162) The Commission accepted Minnesota Power’s, Otter Tail’s and Xcel’s Safety, Reliability, and Service Quality reports, setting the utilities’ reliability standards for next year. The Commission required Minnesota Power to file additional data that will give clarity to current difficulties in meeting its call response targets. The Commission required Xcel to report on the time taken to respond to customers inquires, disputes, and complaints.
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Xcel Energy's Cost Sharing Implementation Plan and Tariff on Interconnection Standards for Distributed Generation (18-714) The Commission approved Xcel’s Cost Sharing Fund program and tariff modifications. The program will create a shared fund by requiring every small, distributed energy resource (DER) (under 40kW) interconnection applicant to pay a nonrefundable $200 fee. The shared fund will be available to pay for network and distribution upgrade costs, facilities costs, and supplemental review fees for small DER applicants. Fee collection will begin January 3, 2023, to take advantage of the Solar Rewards program. In the case where the shared fund has insufficient funds, then Xcel shall maintain a waitlist for projects until the fund can cover the upgrade costs.
Nov 9-10, 2022 Actions
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Byron Solar public hearings: More than 50 people attended the two public hearings for the Byron Solar project located in Dodge County. The project will go before the Commission in early 2023.
Nov. 10, 2022 Decisions
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Minnesota Power's 2021-2035 Integrated Resource Plan (21-33) The Commission approved Minnesota Power’s (MP) 2021 IRP. The approved IRP allows MP to acquire or build up to 400 MW of wind and 300 MW of solar. The PUC also required MP to develop battery storage demonstration projects of up to 500 MWh and required the company to maximize socioeconomic benefits to host communities by prioritizing utility investment in its service territory, using local labor, and developing pathways for on-the-job-training. The IRP also lays out a plan to cease coal operations at the Boswell Energy Center Unit 3 by 2030 and Boswell Unit 4 by 2035.
Nov. 17, 2022 Decisions
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Inquiry into Exemptions for Small Gas Utility Franchises (21-693) The Commission approved Paul Bunyan Natural Gas’ small gas utility franchise exemption. The Commission also required the Company to perform annual reporting, in addition to a compliance filing that the Company had consulted with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
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Investigation into Self-Commitment and Self-Scheduling of Large Baseload Generation Facilities (19-704) The Commission approved the 2021 annual reports from the utilities in the Investigation into self-scheduling of baseload generation facilities. The Commission also added a reporting requirement on avoided carbon emissions due to the transition from self-scheduling to economic scheduling of baseload generation for future annual reporting.
Other decisions
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Docket
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Filing or Docket Summary
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21-86
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The Commission determined that it has the necessary jurisdiction to impose additional regulatory requirements on ETCs
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22-174
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The Commission approved Otter Tail’s revised revenue requirement and proposed EITE surcharge rate.
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21-643
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The Commission approved the proposed site permit with modifications to the site plan for FAA lighting for the 17.4 MW Rose Creek Wind Project in Mower County.
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Notable New Dockets or Filings
Filings can be accessed using the docket number at: MN PUC eFiling Search
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Docket
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Filing or Docket Summary
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22-598
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Biennial Lifeline Audit Reports
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22-596
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Possible service interruption for enTouch Lifeline customers. Impacted customers (estimated to be 100 in MN) have devices not capable of connecting to other mobile networks.
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22-592
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Dakota Electric’s Pilot Virtual Metered Residential EV service
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22-582
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Dunnell, MN service area transfer
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22-575
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Otter Tail Power tariff modifications on utility disconnection for cities and LED street light rates
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22-573
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Minnesota Power Transmission Cost Recovery Rider
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22-572
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Xcel requests approval of a 10-75 MW Electric Service Agreement over ten years at a Time of Day rate with a Competitive Response Rider agreement for a transmission-connected Fortune 100 data center
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22-570
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Novel Energy Solutions Complaint Against Xcel Energy requesting interconnection review pause until IEEE 1547-2018 inverter functionality is included to avoid distribution upgrade costs
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21-339
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Otter Tail Power IRP
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21-135
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CenterPoint, Xcel, and Great Plains filed reconsiderations on the Gas Spike investigation
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Get involved in the PUC process
The Public Utilities Commission encourages Minnesotans to get involved in our processes, stay informed on utility-related issues, and provide input on topics of interest. Visit our website to see what is currently open for public comment. Also, check out the series of short videos that explains who we are, how we work and how to get involved.
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