Are you an Xcel Energy customer? You can weigh in on Xcel’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Public Utilities Commission (docket number 19-368). The plan lays out how Xcel will invest in electricity generation over the next 15 years. Learn more about Xcel’s IRP and Fresh Energy’s response to it in our blog post.
While there are some positive aspects of Xcel Energy’s plan, including commitment to a 100% carbon-free electricity system, historic levels of energy efficiency, coal plant retirements, and an increase in renewable electricity, there is still significant room for improvement in some areas.
Most pressingly, Xcel has included plans for a new fossil gas plant in Becker, Minnesota. This gas plant, as we outlined in our blog post, is the wrong choice for customers’ pocketbooks and the health and wellbeing of Minnesota’s climate.
Submit a Comment:
Use our easy online form to submit a comment to the Public Utilities Commission on Xcel Energy’s IRP by June 25, 2021.
Please keep your comment focused to one reason you don’t support Xcel’s plan. We’ve provided some jumping-off points for you to copy, paste, and edit using the below form. Consider adding something personal to your comment as well!
Sample comments featuring the gas plant, equitable processes, and renewable electricity:
“I am an Xcel customer from [City Name]. I oppose Xcel’s new resource plan because the market for fossil gas is rapidly disappearing. The proposed gas plant in Becker, Minnesota, will not be able to pay for itself and that cost will shift onto customers like me. I’m a [student/parent/grandparent/etc] and my finances can be tight at times. I don’t want to see increases in my bills to pay for an unnecessary gas plant.”
“I’m an Xcel customer from [City Name] and I appreciate that Xcel Energy has committed to increasing its spending on energy efficiency programs for under-resourced customers and rental properties, exploring income-eligible solar programs, and more. However, I strongly encourage Xcel to both continue expanding these investments but also implement a planning process that’s more transparent and inclusive for customers who haven’t traditionally been engaged in the past – including historically marginalized communities and under-resourced individuals and groups. A process that values and takes into account the experiences of customers new to the planning process will result in more equitable outcomes for all over the long term as well as the more immediate benefit of increased customer engagement, allowing the utility to better understand customers’ needs and priorities.“
“I am an Xcel customer from [City Name]. I oppose Xcel’s new resource plan because a new fossil gas plant in Becker, Minnesota, will emit tons of carbon into our atmosphere. Instead, Xcel should commit these funds to renewable electricity generation, a more pragmatic, cleaner, more efficient, and cost-effective choice for customers like me.”
Submit your comment using our online form.
Submit your comment via the Public Utilities Commission.
- Online: Visit www.mn.gov/puc, select Speak Up! Find Docket No. 19-368 and add your comments to the discussion.
- Email: Email your comments to consumer.puc@state.mn.us. Please make sure you include the Docket Number 19-368.
- Submit Online: Use the Commission’s website — go to https://mn.gov/puc/consumers/speak-up/ and fill out the form. You will be asked to include the docket number: 19-368.
- U.S. Mail: Minnesota Public Utilities Commission 121 7th Place East, Suite 350 St. Paul, MN 55101.
