St Paul, Minnesota – At its October 28th agenda meeting, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission continued its analysis and oversight of Minnesota’s largest utilities self-commitment and self-scheduling practices. This effort will help ensure that Minnesota’s coal-burning units are generating electricity economically, thereby saving consumers money in their bills, while preventing market distortions that could supplant renewable energy.

“Analyzing the costs of self-committing and self-scheduling will protect ratepayers during these challenging economic times and will also result in reduced air emissions,” said Commissioner Schuerger. “Ensuring utilities are optimally scheduling their generation sources is vital to making sure consumers are paying the lowest possible rates.”

While Minnesota’s largest utilities are moving forward with their plans to reduce coal generation and increase renewable energy, some coal-fired power plants continue to operate, though they are contributing to less than one-third of the state’s electric power supply. To ensure these facilities dispatch coal-generated electricity economically, the Commission opened an investigation into the self-commitment and self-scheduling practices of Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power, and Xcel Energy.

The Commission directed Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power, and Xcel Energy to make compliance filings regarding their self-scheduling and self-commitment MISO data as part of its investigation. A utility owning a generator can specify the operating parameters including production costs of its generator to MISO. The system operator will refrain from dispatching the resource until it is cost-effective. However, under some circumstances a participant might prefer to commit a generator’s output level accepting any market price rather than awaiting economic dispatch by MISO, increasing costs for ratepayers. The Commission’s oversight of these decisions is designed to ensure both cost savings and advance renewable generation, consistent with state goals.

Minnesota is part of the Midcontinental Independent System Operator (MISO), a system providing transmission, and monitoring services to the United States’ Midwest and southern regions, as well as Canada’s province of Manitoba. MISO maximizes the efficient use of electric generation under fluctuating power demands by selecting generators for dispatch through its Security Constrained Economic Dispatch software.

About

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

Please contact Will Seuffert, 651-201-2217 or will.seuffert@state.mn.us if you have any questions.

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