On August 4, 2025, Fresh Energy filed a public comment at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on the docket pertaining to the acquisition of Minnesota Power (docket #E015/PA-24-198). The acquisition was announced in May 2024 and brought to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for approval.
Minnesota Power is a unique utility nationally. It is a relatively small Investor-Owned Utility and has one of the largest percentages of large industrial electricity customers in the country. The utility, like many others, is in the midst of decarbonizing its electricity generation and must also replace aging infrastructure — this takes investment of capital. Given the utility’s relatively small size and customer mix, it faced unique challenges securing adequate capital through public markets, leading it to pursue a sale to private investors.
Further exacerbating Minnesota Power’s challenges, in the time since the acquisition was announced in May 2024, the federal government moved against clean energy and significantly reshaped the clean energy finance landscape with the federal reconciliation law, passed in July 2025. The law ends tax credits for large-scale wind and solar, among other things.
It became clear that the federal reconciliation law, in addition to tariffs and other federal trade decisions directly impacting Minnesota Power’s large industrial customer base — including the idling of two major existing taconite mines — has put the utility in an even more challenging position when it comes to finding the capital required for the future buildout of clean energy technology, including wind, solar, storage, and transmission lines. These technologies will be necessary in order to meet Minnesota’s 100% clean electricity by 2040 law and our state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.
On July 11, 2025, it was announced that the Minnesota Department of Commerce had reached a settlement with Minnesota Power and its proposed buyers on the acquisition and a range of clean energy and consumer protection items. This settlement includes a $50 million fund dedicated to new clean energy technologies, in addition to providing the investment necessary to fulfill the utility’s existing clean energy commitments. This settlement was followed by a public review and comment period with initial comments submitted on Monday, August 4, 2025.
Upon review of the public record at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Fresh Energy concluded that the proposed sale, as modified by the settlement agreement, would significantly mitigate risk to the transition to clean energy in Minnesota — an outcome that is in direct alignment with Fresh Energy’s mission. To that end, Fresh Energy filed a comment in support of the acquisition of Minnesota Power by private investors that will dedicate the financial capital required to fulfill Minnesota Power’s clean energy commitments.
If the acquisition of Minnesota Power is approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Minnesota Power will remain a regulated utility in Minnesota and will still be subject to the authority of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission — which is the only entity that has the power to set the utility’s rates paid by customers and returns received by their owners. Continuing to ensure reasonable rates and long-term clean energy outcomes for Minnesota Power customers will remain in the purview of the Commission and requires the active and ongoing participation of advocates like Fresh Energy and our many partners to ensure decisions remain in the public interest, regardless of the ownership makeup of Minnesota Power and other utilities.
Achieving 100% clean electricity by 2040, and our state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, demands that we transition electricity generation off of fossil fuels and onto clean energy. By supporting Minnesota Power’s acquisition as modified by the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s settlement, we believe that the utility will have access to the capital needed to fund clean energy investments — which is critical to achieving the clean energy transition.
The process is ongoing at the Commission and Fresh Energy is committed to continuing conversations with all parties that share our commitment to an affordable, sustainable, and equitable clean energy transition for Minnesota Power and its customers.
All media inquiries for Fresh Energy, including any on this subject, can be directed to Jo Olson, Chief Communications Officer at olson@fresh-energy.org and 218.290.6247.
