The big question heading into the 2018 Legislative Session was whether everyone could at least get along. It was a serious question after the 2017 Legislative Session ended with Governor Mark Dayton and the Republican majorities feuding over taxes and funding, a fight that ultimately ended in front of the state’s Supreme Court. There was also litigation over the state’s new Lieutenant Governor, Michelle Fischbach, and whether she could continue to serve as a State Senator.
Despite the contentious beginning, the tone in St. Paul has been cordial. There have been few heated policy fights and most of the major policy bills have been assembled and are awaiting final negotiations. Challenges remain – there are still wide differences between Governor Dayton and the Legislative Majorities over taxes and bonding – but most believe the session should end on time and with all of the key work addressed.
Energy-wise, the focus has mainly been on regulatory issues. Frustration over the permitting, particularly with pipeline construction, and the ability for utilities to recover investments in existing operations have bubbled up into legislation. The Omnibus Energy and Jobs Bills introduced in both the House (HF4289) and Senate (SF3870) were relatively non-controversial, with most of the significant changes focused on Xcel Energy and it’s Renewable Development Fund (or as it’s now called, the Renewable Development Account).
The RDA is funded through assessments on the spent nuclear fuel Xcel stores at its Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear power plants. The bill caps the assessments and also uses portions to fund different projects, including $40 million to help the Prairie Island Sioux community to move to a 100 percent renewable energy portfolio and the possibility of moving the spent nuclear fuel to potential sites in Texas and New Mexico (House version only). The two bills also fund a study on electric storage.
Additionally, Xcel is also pushing a bill that would provide the utility with additional regulatory certainty should it continue operating its nuclear power plants until their current operating licenses expire in the early 2030s. Earlier this decade, Xcel shareholders were forced to swallow the cost overruns from a major overhaul of its Monticello plant when the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission ruled it couldn’t include the overruns in its rate base. Negotiations continue on the bill, but so far Governor Dayton has indicated he will veto the bill because he sees it as undermining the PUC’s authority.
Finally, a bill that would eliminate the state’s sulfate rule and require the Pollution Control Agency to come up with a new standard (HF3280/SF2983) passed both the House and Senate. Shortly after the bill passed the House, the PCA announced it would abandon the rule. The issue is important because of the potential impact enforcing the rule would have on the state’s mines, steel mills and water treatment facilities, some of the biggest energy users in Minnesota.