ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission suspended comment on Minnesota Power’s proposed resource plan on Thursday, Oct. 16.
The utility is in the midst of the integrated resource planning process, which lays out how Minnesota Power will provide electricity through 2039. The plan has to be approved by the commission.
The PUC approved the sale of the utility to two private equity firms earlier this month. As part of that approval, Minnesota Power has to file an alternative resource plan by Jan. 15, 2026.
Commenting will reopen after that filing, as the planning process resumes.
The new alternative is called the Clean Firm Plan. Minnesota Power must work with the Department of Commerce and others to create a plan with lower carbon emissions than its current proposal in the most cost-effective manner possible.
As part of the sale agreement, Minnesota Power’s buyers committed to creating a $50 million Clean Firm Technology Fund, which would fund part of this alternate plan.
Under its current proposal, the utility would meet the state requirement of 90% carbon-free electricity by 2035 but fall short of 100% by 2040.
Minnesota Power originally proposed converting part of the coal-powered Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset to natural gas. In its 2021 resource plan, the utility said it would cease coal operations at Boswell Unit 3 by 2030 and Unit 4 by 2035.
But Minnesota Power must minimize its natural gas resources in the Clean Firm Plan.
Jennifer Cady, vice president of public policy and external affairs for Minnesota Power’s parent company, ALLETE, said in an interview that the utility is committed to reinvesting at Boswell.
“Leveraging existing infrastructure is what’s best for customers,” she said. “It’s generally the most cost-effective thing to do since we’ve already invested so much infrastructure at that site.”
The commission also told Minnesota Power to consider more ways to use Boswell’s transmission infrastructure.
Local residents and community leaders spoke in support of Minnesota Power’s previously proposed resource plan at a public hearing in Cohasset in July.
Mayor Josh Casper said the prospect of replacing the tax base of Boswell kept him up at night. The power plant's future was up in the air until Minnesota Power announced its natural gas refueling plans.
"When Minnesota Power released their recent IRP earlier this year, it was almost an instant weight off my shoulders," Casper said. "Although we don't quite know what it will look like yet with jobs and tax base, knowing that Minnesota Power is committed to Cohasset and Boswell Energy Center is huge.”
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