St. Paul, Minn. – On Thursday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) approved CenterPoint Energy’s 2023 Natural Gas Innovation Plan, the first of its kind in Minnesota. This plan stems from the 2021 Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA) passed by the Minnesota Legislature. The approved plan will reduce or avoid approximately 1.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to roughly 14 percent of the total emissions generated by CenterPoint’s natural gas service in 2020.
Under the bipartisan NGIA, natural gas utilities can submit five-year innovation plans to the Commission that detail the utilities’ plan to invest in innovative resources which include biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG), power-to-hydrogen, power-to-ammonia, carbon capture, strategic electrification, district energy, and energy efficiency. The goal of the NGIA is to reduce the amount of geologic natural gas delivered to customers.
CenterPoint proposed seventeen pilot programs and seven research and development projects. As the Commission deliberated, they considered a variety of impacts including costs, environmental justice, jobs and economic development and resource scalability.
“The Natural Gas Innovation Act was enacted to help us gain a better understanding of the role natural gas plays in decarbonization and how we can leverage resources like biogas, renewable natural gas, and power-to-hydrogen. We appreciate CenterPoint Energy’s dedication to creating a robust innovation plan and to stakeholder engagement as we deliberated over these past two days,” said Commissioner Valerie Means. “Our decisions move us closer to meeting the state’s carbon reduction goals while providing reliable and affordable natural gas.”
The approved plan includes a pilot for urban tree carbon offsets. This pilot will purchase carbon offsets from a local non-profit, Green Cities Accord, who in-turn works with local tree planting partners across the Twin Cities to plan tress in urban areas. The plan also includes a first-of-its-kind in Minnesota project that will provide building heating and cooling for a neighborhood currently served by the company. This pilot starts with a study phase to identify the location, technologies, and business model for the system.
The company proposed multiple projects tied to RNG, including purchasing RNG produced from Dem-Con HZI Bioenergy, and Ramsey and Washington Counties organic waste. The Commission also made modifications to company’s RNG request for proposal. The Commission required the company to only accept bids for RNG projects that are interconnected with CenterPoint’s Minnesota distribution system or neighboring regions. The Commission also required the company to consult with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture on incentivizing more Minnesota small family farms to participate in the development and sale of RNG.
Going forward, CenterPoint will file annual status reports on its innovation plan. These annual reports provide the Commission and various stakeholders the opportunity to review the progress of the plan and individual pilots. Annual reports must include the costs incurred under the plan, the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduced or avoided, and the economic impact of the plan including job creation, among other requirements. Through its review of CenterPoint's annual reports, the Commission may approve the continuation of a pilot with or without modifications, require the utility to file a new pilot or plan, or disapprove of the continuation of a pilot or plan.
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The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission regulates three cornerstone service industries in Minnesota's economy: electricity, natural gas and telephone. The Commission’s mission is to create and maintain a regulatory environment that ensures safe, adequate and efficient utility services at fair, reasonable rates consistent with State telecommunications and energy policies. It does so by providing independent, consistent, professional and comprehensive oversight and regulation of utility service providers. Learn more at mn.gov/puc.
