Accomplishments

Introduction

As a result of ECC’s advocacy efforts, approximately 20,000 households will benefit from direct bill payment and conservation assistance programs designed to supplement the Energy Assistance Program (about 17% of the MN Energy Assistance Program customers). In addition, ECC’s numerous policy initiatives and regulatory efforts provide additional consumer protection to the over 400,000 Minnesota households living at or below 50% of state median income.

Financial victories

Since 1993, ECC has leveraged nearly $116 million in non-federal resources for low-income utility bill payment and conservation assistance programs. Examples of securing additional resources include:

• Over $5 million each year for a low-income electric bill discount (and the POWER On Program) for Xcel Energy customers.
• Over $8.5 million each year for natural gas bill discounts • Increasing amount and dedicating a source for low-income conservation programs
• State appropriations to supplement federal energy assistance and weatherization programs
• Pre-purchasing propane and fuel oil and passing savings onto low-income delivered fuel consumers
• Negotiating settlements in utility rate cases and other regulatory proceedings

Please contact us if you would like more information about any of the activities highlighted above.

Legislative victories

• Passed legislation requiring the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to consider ability to pay as a factor in setting utility rates and establishing low-income utility programs
• Worked to pass legislation requiring utilities to invest in low-income conservation programs, including a requirement that spending on utility low-income conservation must increase with increases in utility revenue
• Strengthened and streamlined Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule law. Under that law, customers pay what they can and their heat can not be turned off in the winter.
• Worked with allies to pass utility service quality standards, including complaint and call center response time, disconnection rates and meter-reading frequency.
• Co-led the 2001 POWER campaign to defeat electric utility deregulation and increase utility consumer protections
• Passed legislation to prohibit utility service disconnections during periods of extreme heat
• Wrote and passed the law defining service or load limiters as heat-affected disconnections, subjecting their use to the same protections under Minnesota's current Cold Weather Rule (restricting heat-affected shut-offs in the winter)
• Passed legislation requiring utilities to provide year-round monthly reports to the Public Utilities Commission, including average residential customer bills, past due amounts, service disconnections and reconnections. Advocates can use this information to ensure utility compliance with Minnesota laws and to develop additional policy initiatives.
• Passed legislation requiring the Department of Commerce to purchase lower cost propane in the summer for low-income propane customers and to pass the pre-buy savings onto customers allowing their Energy Assistance Program grants to purchase more fuel for heating.

Regulatory Victories

• Participated in Public Utilities Commission investigation of CenterPoint’s alleged violations of Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule.
• Participated in the Public Utilities Commission proceeding regarding CenterPoint and Xcel fixed natural gas rate programs. Those programs resulted in significant customer overcharges for natural gas bills and have been eliminated in Minnesota.
• Participated in a Public Utilities Commission (PUC) rulemaking to implement the utility service standards passed in the Legislature.
• Intervened in several utility rate cases, resulting in limits to residential customer service charge increases, waivers of fees for low and fixed income consumers, and expanded low-income bill payment assistance programs.