Utility Sale Back Before Minnesota Regulators

(Adobe Stock via Minnesota News Connection)

(By Mike Moen. Minnesota News Connection) – Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission meets Thursday, and faces a request to reconsider regulators’ recent approval of the high-profile sale of Minnesota Power.

Ratepayers and other opponents still express concerns about the utility being under private equity control. Last fall, the PUC signed off on a deal for Global Infrastructure Partners to purchase the utility as majority owners. The environmental group CURE petitioned the state to reconsider, claiming revelations about Minnesota Power’s link to a controversial data center project warrant additional scrutiny.

At a winter meeting hosted by CURE, Duluth community organizer Brandon Parker said he worries such projects will drive profit motivations.

“They see a massive return on investment with increasing power consumption [from] hyperscale data centers,” he said.