We received Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approval on our Integrated Resource Plan

On May 30, 2024, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved our resource plan containing many elements of the settlement between our company and other parties filed April 2, 2024, in our 2022-2036 Integrated Resource Plan docket.

The MPUC decision:

1. Allows us to retain the reliability benefits of Coyote Station while running the portion of the plant used to serve our Minnesota customers for emergency purposes only. This will begin as soon as June 1, 2026, and end no later than 2031. At that time, our Minnesota customers will no longer use the capacity of or energy from Coyote Station. The MPUC’s decision doesn’t require us to withdraw from Coyote Station or change how we operate Coyote Station to serve our North Dakota and South Dakota customers, even beyond 2031.
2. Allows us to begin creating project plans for replacement energy for the portion of Coyote Station used to serve our Minnesota customers—and allows us to make progress toward the Minnesota Carbon Free standard. We'll develop plans for 200 to 300 megawatts (MW) of solar resources, 150 to 200 MW of wind resources, and 20 to 75 MW of battery storage to be commercially operational between now and the end of 2029.
3. Recognizes our proposal to add on-site liquefied natural gas storage at our Astoria Station natural gas facility, a shared resource across our three-state service area, is reasonable and prudent to protect system reliability and provide price protection for our Minnesota customers. This recognition takes us one step farther in the regulatory process to add on-site fuel at Astoria Station.

“We appreciate the working relationships we have with the Minnesota Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49 and North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, and Laborers’ International Union of North America Minnesota and North Dakota (LIUNA) who supported our settlement going into the final hearing,” said President Tim Rogelstad. “And we gratefully acknowledge the MPUC’s ability to manage extremely challenging dockets and continue to demonstrate its commitment to best addressing the needs of our customers.”

We serve customers in three states: Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. We have an Advanced Determination of Prudence (ADP) request pending with the North Dakota Public Service Commission for the on-site fuel project at Astoria Station. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission doesn’t have a project preapproval process, so we aren't awaiting any related decisions in that state.