DULUTH — The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission denied a petition from an environmental organization Thursday, Feb. 19, to reconsider the sale of Minnesota Power to private equity firms.
Environmental advocacy group CURE in December asked the PUC to reopen the record and take additional testimony on data center development and protections against conflicts of interest.
The request was prompted by revelations that Minnesota Power was in talks with Hermantown city officials about a controversial proposed data center at the same time the utility told the Commission it had no specific plans for that type of project.
CURE was among a broad coalition that fought against the sale of Minnesota Power’s parent company, ALLETE, to two private equity investors — one of which, Global Infrastructure Partners, is owned by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm.
In its response to CURE’s petition, Minnesota Power said it frequently talks with developers who are considering bringing new projects to the region.
“CURE’s Petition conflates preliminary outreach and related exchanges ... with committed plans or certainty a project will come to fruition,” the company stated.
In asking the PUC to deny CURE’s petition, Minnesota Power also argued that this case isn’t the place to have this discussion. If a large project like a data center were to move forward, it would come before the Commission in a separate proceeding.
The commissioners agreed.
“I understand the concern raised in this reconsideration docket, but I think we can deal with it in different dockets,” said Commissioner Hwikwon Ham.
In a statement Friday, CURE said, “We are disappointed, if unsurprised, that the PUC declined to take up the petition.”
The group noted that the commissioners didn’t discuss what CURE considers the central issue: conflicts of interest. GIP, one of Minnesota Power’s new owners, plans to invest billions in data centers.
“The two commissioners who did the most talking spoke about related matters ... but didn’t grapple with the fact that there are new documents showing a possible conflict of interest, and they therefore also did not discuss what they could do about that conflict of interest should they have wanted to,” stated CURE Legal Director Hudson Kingston.
Commissioner John Tuma did use the discussion as an opportunity to question Minnesota Power about data centers, noting that commissioners cannot have private or off-the-record discussions.
“I would hope that you have a thoughtful approach at how to have public engagement around data centers," Tuma told Minnesota Power representatives at the meeting.
The PUC is one of a handful of agencies that currently has a role in regulating data centers, an increasingly high-profile issue. By the end of the year, the Commission will adopt new definitions for utility customers related to data centers.
Large customers are already subject to a separate approval process through the PUC. The creation of new definitions was directed by the Legislature as part of a suite of data center rules passed at the end of last year’s special session.
“You’re not just going to approve a data center until you bring something to us,” Tuma said.
“ ... By the way, if they think they’re going to get me to sign an NDA, they have another thing coming,” he added, referencing public officials’ signing of non-disclosure agreements in the Hermantown case.
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