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

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.