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junalmpls.cm // Apil 22May 5, 2013 // 17

that route would speed

Minneapolis progress in

reducing greenhouse gas

emissions, improve the

reliability of the services

and add jobs.

The City Council voted

April 12 to spend up to$250,000 exploring that

scenario and others over

the next nine months with

the Energy System Path-

ways Study.

We want to let our

current utility providers

know these are our goals

and we are serious about

trying to find a path to

better achieve our goals,

said City Council Member

Elizabeth Glidden (Ward 8).

At the same t ime, c ity

leaders are following half

a dozen bills at the state

Legislature that couldweigh on their decision,

including two key pieces

of legislation.

One would expand

cities power in nego-

tiating utility franchise

agreements, allowing

them to set energy-effi-

ciency goals and requiring

utilities to provide regular

reports on local energy

infrastructure. Right now,

cities can discuss fran-

chise fees and the condi-

tions for utilities to work

on their streets, but the

Minnesota Public UtilitiesCommission has the only

voice in negotia tions with

utilities over, for example,

the mix of renewableenergy sources used to

generate electricity.

State law tells us you

can talk to Xcel about

how much they pay

[Minneapolis] for right-

of-way use, but we cant

under state law have

a discussion with Xcel

[asking], Well, we want

you to provide 10 percent

of our energy with clean,

renewable sources,

explained Glidden, who

chairs the Councils

Regulatory, Energy and

Environment Committee.If Minneapolis decides

it can do a better job than

Xcel, current state law

also requires the city topurchase the uti litys local

infrastructure all of the

lines, poles and substa-

tions in town and

reimburse Xcel for future

revenues.

Another key bill in the

state Legislature would

strip future revenues

from that reimbursement

formula, reducing the

potentially huge costs

facing cities as they transi-

tion to municipal utilities.

Initial estimates indicate

Minneapolis would spend

hundreds of millionsand perhaps more than a

billion dollars taking over

utility operations.

The current law hasbeen on the books since

the 1970s, and Glidden

said that was one reason

why the state hadnt seen

any new municipal utilities

created in the nearly four

decades since. Still, they

arent necessarily rare.

According to the Minne-

sota Municipal Utilities

Association, there are 125

municipal electric utilities

serving cities as large as

Rochester and another 31

municipal gas utilities.

Other cities around the

country, citing concernsabout role of greenhouse

gas emissions in climate

change, are also consid-

ering municipal utilities.

In April, city leaders in

Boulder, Colo., were

nearing a vote to end the

citys contract with Xcel

and establish a municipal

energy utility.

In Minneapolis, the

targets set by the City

Council aim to reduce

citywide greenhouse gasemissions 15 percent by

2015 and 30 percent by

2025, as compared to a

2006 baseline. To reach

those goals, city leaders

want more detailed

information on just how

energy is distributed and

used, even down to the

neighborhood level.

Representatives from

both utilities said they

planned to cooperate with

the study.

Xcel spokesperson

Laura McCarten said the

company was eager topartic ipate in the study

and would work with the

city to explore energy

conservation strategies.

But Xcel opposes the

proposed change s to fra n-

chise agreement negotia-

tions, and McCarten cast

doubt on the idea of nego-

tiating energy standards

city-by-city.

Thats where our grid

is not designed by city

boundaries, she said. I

dont even conceive of

how we could do that.

While city leadersponde r the energy future

of Minneapolis, they have

a citizen-led campaign

pushing them to s tay

tough in franchise nego-

tiation with CenterPoint

and Xcel.

Dylan Kesti of Minne-

apolis Energy Options

said the city has a unique

opportunity now to

make progress toward its

clean energy goals. The

campaign isnt advocatinga municipal utility as the

only solution, but Kesti

noted that Boulder, Colo.,

moved forward when

a 2011 feasibility study

indicated a municipal

utility there could signifi-

cantly reduce greenhouse

gas emissions while

maintaining rates and

reliability at similar levels

to Xcel.

Glidden said City

Council members, too,

are open to whatever

outcome leads to cleaner,

more reliable energy forthe city.

Clearly, there are

a lot of communities

that provide municipal

energy, she said. The

questions, I think, for us,

is how realistic is that as

an option.

Reach Dylan Thomas at

dthomas@mnpubs.com.

Xcelf r oM PA g e 1

b d A t h o M A

Xcel Energys headquarters on Nicollet Mall.