Dive Brief:
- The City of Minneapolis has signed tentative agreements with Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy ending a prolonged battle over municipalization. The pact extends the utilities' franchise agreements while setting up a board to consider expanding clean energy programs. Activists had been pushing for a referendum to create a municipal utility for the city.
- Under the terms, the utility franchise agreements are extended for 10 years, though the city can terminate the arrangement after five. A separate agreement focuses on the utilities' commitment to the city's clean energy plan, which calls for a 15 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2015, 30 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.
- The new board will include the Minneapolis mayor, two council members, the city coordinator and two senior officials from each of the two utilities.
Dive Insight:
Agreements with Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy were set to expire at the end of this year, and activists were pushing a referendum to consider creating a municipal provider, Midwest Energy News reports. The new deal, which the city described as "tentative," secures Xcel and CenterPoint's places as the incumbent providers and clears the way for a renewed focus on green power in the city.
“When it came time to negotiate franchises with the utilities, we saw an opportunity to do more for a rapidly changing world than just renew old agreements,” said Council Member Elizabeth Glidden. “This was our chance to define what the city really needs from its energy suppliers. The resulting Clean Energy Partnership is a major breakthrough in working together for a greater good.”
A separate deal, Midwest Energy News reported, will focus on city-wide goals calling for massive cuts to greenhouse has emissions through 2050. The deal is aimed at "exploring and implementing ways for the city to reduce its own energy use and increase its use of clean and renewable energy," the city said in a statement.
