[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6326805,"mediaKeyId","2323676-1019358cdb5fed033bc6393e4b81b922","parentId",2323676,"title","Commerce warns federal grant freezes threaten Minnesota energy projects; asks for $14.25M a year","audioSeconds",4143,"startMs",941000,"endMs",5084000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2323676-1019358cdb5fed033bc6393e4b81b922&start=941&end=5084","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2323676-1019358cdb5fed033bc6393e4b81b922/thumbnail_941000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6326805/Minnesota/Commerce-warns-federal-grant-freezes-threaten-Minnesota-energy-projects-asks-for-1425M-a-year","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6326805-a344367b7469d22871acf8eb554279ad/orig.mp4?Expires=1771188293&Signature=Yi0L-QWsAq4u~aopyZEDWIlttBjNCFGD81hYaRCtZHVBYPqGOtuQnUptEI4J3kZ8bIg1jZYHu~nwA3b-6-X2ArGeNYnLv8CF6GcyEQY4FOM3VFaie9uH1dQ-3E7kmfG0~HbkEvefo9znph8IE3GbYyfn3vIUoUt46F5uYQW75I~Tgf-j5Vi62rwm2e3MaarEg9hRnTfjJrtgXqQbZ1sqSiKVZuyJw4rmBgplrRvGzyanTkZ3oKSrmcC-EDfSI7eoOpe3KTU8Ia14BiiHUUKA3pA~dO~z8JdqnA~-F0m~pQwI3yUvX2AAe0QHvMWgE3aUiOaUl5Q~xqc9hwm-vUBmfw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Minnesota Senate Media Services","date","2025-02-17T00:00:00Z","article","Commerce officials told the Minnesota Senate Environment and Climate Committee on Feb. 17 that a sudden freeze of federal grants and competitive awards jeopardizes projects across the state and that the Department of Commerce is requesting $14,250,000 per year in state operating support in the governor's budget.

For the record, Grace Arnold, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce, introduced the department's energy division presentation and Pete Wyckoff, Deputy Commissioner of Commerce for the Energy Division, outlined the agency's responsibilities and funding picture. Wyckoff said roughly a billion dollars in federal funding are currently under contract to the agency and that “as of the end of last week, all of that money is frozen.”

That funding supports a wide array of state programs and competitive awards, officials said. Wyckoff named several specific items that Commerce said are at risk if the federal funds do not flow: a $52,000,000 competitive tax-credit–style award to a Minnesota company expected to build a rare‑earth‑free magnet plant in Sartell; an $812,000,000 grant to Great River Energy; weatherization and home efficiency rebates; and other competitive awards the department has reserved or leveraged with state match dollars.

Why it matters: Commerce staff said the frozen funds are already under contract and that losing them would put projects, local matches and jobs at risk across Minnesota. “A contract is a contract. You don't get to pick and choose,” Wyckoff told the committee when describing the department's talks with the federal government and the state Attorney General's office.

Budget and requested state funding: Commerce said the governor's budget includes a request for $14,250,000 per year for the Division of Energy Resources. Officials described the makeup of that request as follows:
- About $6,040,000 per year is non‑ridered (flexible) base funding to support core staff and program work across the division.
- $3,200,000 per year to continue a pre‑weatherization program that helps bring homes into eligibility for federal weatherization dollars.
- An RDA (Regional Development Agency) pass‑through amount of roughly $600,000 over the biennium was noted in the packet.
- The administration-wide operating adjustment cited for FY2026 and FY2027 totals $1,200,000 and $1,800,000 respectively to cover personnel and shared IT/services costs; Commerce said that request is agency‑wide rather than division‑specific.

Programs and federal funding detail: Wyckoff told senators that much of the division's work is funded by federal formulas and competitive grants stemming from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Highlights cited by Commerce staff included:
- Solar for Schools: Commerce reported it had funded 141 K–12 and higher education projects statewide under the program created in 2023.
- Electric resilience grants: the new state program has received 40 applications from 29 applicants and awards were imminent, Commerce said. The state program includes cyber‑security and other flexibility not always available in the federal counterpart.
- State Competitiveness Fund: Commerce said it set aside $100,000,000 to help match federal grants; about $80,000,000 has been reserved and the department said it has leveraged nearly $100,000,000 in federal funds so far. Awards have ranged, Commerce said, from roughly $29,000 to $10,000,000 depending on project type.
- Weatherization and energy assistance: Commerce said the annual weatherization appropriation is about $18,000,000, supplemented by IIJA funds that Commerce said totaled about $19,500,000 but that the IIJA tranche had been frozen. Commerce told the committee that much of the weatherization and rebate funding has been frozen as of late last week.
- Electric vehicle rebates and school bus funding: Commerce said combined rebate spending to date was about $15,000,000 and that the first round of electric school bus awards under state programs total roughly $4,500,000 (about $2,500,000 general fund and $2,000,000 RDA), with additional rounds pending.

Committee questions and concerns: Senators pressed Commerce on several operational and policy details. Senator Gruenhagen asked whether there is a decommissioning fund for small private wind turbines whose foundations can remain in fields; Commerce said decommissioning obligations are typically addressed in the original project agreement and that the department would follow up with the senator. Senators raised questions about the Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act's 1.5% annual conservation target and how communities could accommodate load growth while meeting conservation goals; Commerce staff said ECO is intended to encourage efficiency without blocking load growth and that implementation aims to allow efficient growth.

Modeling and federal assumptions: In response to questions about cost modeling for the state's 2040 carbon‑free electricity statute, Wyckoff said federal competitive grants referenced in his presentation were not assumed in the core cost model: “none of these grants are assumed in that graph. So they are bonus on top of that.” He added that what the model does assume is continuation of federal clean energy tax credits.

Follow‑up and next steps: Commerce told the committee it will follow up with additional program‑level figures (for example, exact counts for electric buses awarded) and said it is coordinating with the Attorney General's office on legal options to push back on federal contract freezes. Department leaders asked the committee to note that many of the programs Commerce runs are intended to leverage federal funds and that the state share helps attract private and federal investment.

Sources and attribution: Reporting in this article is drawn from testimony by Grace Arnold (Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Commerce), Pete Wyckoff (Deputy Commissioner of Commerce, Energy Division), Melissa Polish (Assistant Commissioner, federal and state initiatives), and other Commerce staff during the Feb. 17, 2025, Environment and Climate Committee hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Committee on Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate - 02/17/25","oneSentenceSummary","Commerce officials told the Minnesota Senate Environment and Climate Committee on Feb. 17 that a sudden freeze of federal grants and competitive awards jeopardizes projects across the state and that the Department of Commerce is requesting $14,250,000 per year in state operating support in the governor's budget.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MN, Minnesota","taxId",77817,"location","Minnesota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6326800,"Public Utilities Commission seeks staff, gas‑planning and IT funding as permitting staff move to PUC",1442,5103000,6545000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2323676-1019358cdb5fed033bc6393e4b81b922&start=5103&end=6545","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2323676-1019358cdb5fed033bc6393e4b81b922/thumbnail_5103000.jpg","/articles/6326800/Minnesota/Public-Utilities-Commission-seeks-staff-gasplanning-and-IT-funding-as-permitting-staff-move-to-PUC","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6326800-62bb6240d43aed78c1d45cc6889ee622/orig.mp4?Expires=1771188293&Signature=GnNmHFIxuZSZkkBOq7B1vSu2JJNLXR6of9dEr4odtKnmOhOMPRVOwqXeP1g6rNAUCxbyK5J8Gj25lqs4Aeo4iUqZCuLKAklQq5nIZOqhy10eEBjzCsEvVrABYnOmF6b8dAjHUsLstBV8wDnpYaqUPQ8Iy~6PGjF9bSQ93xtRpZ~Y-v-fpnMf2rEPk3ZzcyoDwqjuikw~xqZ84OSqHVgoZm3YV7CwhbGHRdD3g8u23cwJezXNomTAXvpP7xikeGn5DjOpCfQuJ7pXs3agrtNjZTrMMkaIMmpJC5~pPWLzGLHaO7ML-Zjrn-cCpp3LojWc42hTWSQW~O-kNpXC8L61Aw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Public Utilities Commission officials told the Minnesota Senate Environment and Climate Committee on Feb. 17 that the agency needs additional staffing, modeling tools and technology upgrades as it absorbs an environmental review unit and takes on expanded responsibilities under recent law.

For the record, Will Soeffert, Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Commission, and Mike Bull, Deputy Executive Secretary, presented the agency overview and budget proposals. Soeffert described the PUC as a five‑member body with quasi‑judicial responsibilities that must follow strict ex parte and code‑of‑conduct rules; he told the committee the commission acts “more like a court than a policy‑setting agency” when deciding contested utility dockets.

Why it matters: The commission said dockets have grown in complexity and public participation, and that the agency rejected about $1,700,000,000 in proposed rate increases from utilities since 2020 after full litigation — a figure Soeffert cited as a measure of the commission’s consumer‑protection role. The PUC also stressed that it must preserve reliability and compliance with regional and federal reliability standards while implementing state energy policy.

Budget change items: The PUC presented four change items in the governor's proposal:
- An operating adjustment to cover compensation and shared services pressure (roughly $236,000 first year, $478,000 second year).
- Funding for a dedicated tribal liaison to implement Minnesota Statute 10.65 (tribal consultation duties added in 2024 law).
- Natural gas utility resource planning and coordination: $553,000 per year to support 3 FTE and modeling licenses to perform gas‑sector scenario analysis and to address emerging regulatory needs brought on by weather events and transition issues.
- Technology maintenance and innovation: $820,000 annually to modernize legacy applications, support a public interactive meeting platform, and handle IT work associated with the July 1, 2025 transfer of the Energy Environmental Review and Analysis Division from the Department of Commerce to the PUC.

Staffing and workload: Soeffert said the PUC employs 77 FTE in St. Paul and that the Regulatory Analysis Division is the largest unit, handling financial analysis, economic analysis, energy facility permitting, and regional energy coordination. The PUC reported large increases in public filings: more than 7,600 public comments across 34 facility permit proceedings in 2024 and 54 public hearings for facilities dockets.

Operational rules and recent statutory work: The commission emphasized its ex parte rules that forbid private discussions about material issues in active dockets. Mike Bull summarized recent and ongoing statutory implementation work that the PUC is carrying out, including:
- Thermal energy network work group (statutory direction to evaluate non‑traditional heat networks).
- Requirements for utilities to study grid‑enhancing technologies (GETS) and include GETS in transmission plans.
- Development of statewide distribution interconnection cost‑sharing standards and an ombudsperson to mediate interconnection disputes.
- Implementation of renter protections to ensure tenants billed through landlords receive the same cold‑weather protections and notice of LIHEAP eligibility.
- Continued implementation of the Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA) and the Energy Conservation and Optimization Act (ECO).
- Implementation planning and guidance for the 2040 carbon‑free electricity standard (statute enacted in 2023); the PUC has issued guidance rounds and expects to finish the guidance process in the next year.

Performance metrics: The PUC presented proxies for reliability (SADI — system average interruption duration index), residential rates (Minnesota IOUs at about 95% of the national average), and emissions (electric sector CO2 down roughly 50% since 2005). The commission noted Minnesota meets the statutory retail rate goal for residential customers but not for industrial customers, where rates remain above the national average.

Committee questions: Senators pressed PUC staff on the size of the requested headcount increase (9 new FTEs across proposals) and how those hires align with the agency's 77‑person staff. Soeffert said the request reflects increased filings and complexity and that regulatory work has reduced “regulatory lag”; he cited the $1.7 billion in rejected utility requests as evidence of substantive regulatory effort.

Consumer assistance: The PUC asked legislators to direct constituents with unresolved utility problems to the Consumer Affairs Office; PUC said five mediators handled roughly 35,000 contacts last year and helped secure more than $300,000 in refunds and credits for consumers.

Next steps: The PUC said it will work with the committee on budget items, on commissioner confirmations noted in the presentation, and on implementation timelines for statutory requirements such as the transfer of environmental review staff on July 1, 2025.","Public Utilities Commission officials told the Minnesota Senate Environment and Climate Committee on Feb. 17 that the agency needs additional staffing, modeling tools and technology upgrades as it absorbs an environmental review unit and takes on expanded responsibilities under recent law.","actionData","errors"]

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Commerce warns federal grant freezes threaten Minnesota energy projects; asks for $14.25M a year

Public Utilities Commission seeks staff, gas‑planning and IT funding as permitting staff move to PUC