Mandatory Utility Green Power Option

Electric utilities in Minnesota must offer customers the option to purchase green power, defined as power generated from renewable resources or "high-efficiency, low-emission distributed generation, such as fuel cells or microturbines fueled by a renewable fuel." Rates charged for green power must be based on the difference between the cost of the renewable energy and the same amount of non-renewable energy. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) must approve rates developed by investor-owned utilities (IOUs). As a result of the enactment of Minnesota's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in February 2007, the requirement for utilities to offer voluntary green-power programs was set to expire January 1, 2010. However, S.B 550 enacted in May 2009 moved up this expiration date to July 1, 2009. The Minnesota Department of Commerce is responsible for certifying generating sources, and for tracking and verifying all green-power programs. As part of the adoption of the Midwest Renewable Energy Trading System (M-RETS) for the state RPS, the PUC determined in December 2007 that RECs traded over M-RETS could be used to supply customer demand for green power. Click here for further details on the PUC's adoption of the M-RETs tracking system. Utility green pricing filings and other information is available in Docket E999/DI-02-1240 (search 02-1240) on the MN PUC e-docket website.