Got Heat and Electricity?

By MARY ELLEN KALUZA

Can you imagine life without electricity and heat? During a Minnesota winter we’d be going to bed at 4 pm in December and sleeping under a pile of smelly bear skins. We take our access to electricity and heating for granted, but there is a lot happening on the other side of our utility meters that impacts the what, where, and how we get that access.

Regulation 

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is charged with regulating policies, rates, and services for utilities like electricity, natural gas, and landline phone service. This includes approving rate increases for our energy. The PUC members are appointed by the governor and their responsibilities are determined by state law. Most of the regulated utilities are for-profit entities whose purpose is to maximize return to stockholders – like CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy. You can imagine, then, the pressure they exert on the PUC to allow rate increases. Learn more about the PUC at: https://mn.gov/puc/. 

The Citizen Utility Board (CUB) of Minnesota, a non-profit organization funded by grants and donations, advocates on behalf of consumers for reasonable rates and regulation of the utility industries. Besides being at the table for us, CUB also promotes energy efficiency and clean energy, and provides direct consumer assistance, such as reviewing utility bills.… Read the rest “Got Heat and Electricity?”