EUCI: MN is Adopting a Methodological Approach to Grid Modernization (EUCI)

Minnesota — unhampered by the pressures facing some other states — is taking a step-by-step approach in planning and developing a smart grid, one that could be a template for others…

“…We are taking on this issue of modernizing the grid stepwise and at an orderly pace, and looking at customer value,” said Mike Bull, policy director for the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE), a Minneapolis non-profit focusing on energy efficiency programs. “We don’t have a crisis and are not under pressure… We are taking our time to get it right…”

…Xcel has worked on its PUC proposal with an e21 stakeholder group, including the state Department of Commerce, the state attorney general, Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, Fresh Energy, Great Plains Institute, CEE, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

“An e21 principal to the extent possible, it is good to get stakeholder input into a docket before it is filed,” Bull said. “We do the early work to round off the edges, and identify the areas for significant agreement and significant disagreement…”

Read the full article at EUCI