Tell the Minnesota PUC to reject the proposed private equity buyout!

An equitable, clean energy future for our Northland communities is under threat. The proposed sale of ALLETE/Minnesota Power to private equity giants Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP, owned by BlackRock) and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP) places risk on the reliability, affordability, and transparency of an essential public service we all rely on. If this buyout is approved, Minnesota Power would be majority-owned by Blackrock via GIP.

Sierra Club, the Citizen Utilities Board, CURE, and the MN Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, and Minnesota’s largest industries oppose this deal.

Just weeks ago, an Administrative Law Judge recommended that the PUC reject the proposed sale, citing risks to clean energy goals, financial stability, and ratepayer protections – calling the deal a net harm to the public interest.

Unfortunately, just days before the ALJ’s report was released, the Minnesota Department of Commerce—which had previously opposed the deal—caved to pressure and proposed a settlement with Minnesota Power and the private equity partners. This settlement includes a small set of provisions that purport to mitigate the risks of the acquisition, but actually do very little to protect Minnesota Power customers and the state from harm.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will be deliberating and making a decision sometime this fall, and Commissioners must find that the proposal is “consistent with the public interest.”

Sierra Club is concerned about the proposed acquisition's potential impacts on Minnesota Power's ratepayers and on the utility's transition to 100% carbon-free energy by 2040. We are also concerned that transferring Minnesota Power -- a public company -- over to private ownership could undermine accountability and transparency to the public and its ratepayers. Learn more about why the Sierra Club urges the Commission to make the right decision, and join us in submitting a comment!

Together, we can push back against corporate greed and power hoarding and organize for local control and our communities' climate future here in the Northland. Send a comment to the Public Utilities Commission and urge Commissioners to deny this proposal.

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Deny the ALLETE/Minnesota Power proposed private equity buyout! Public comments for docket E-015/PA-24-198

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Commissioners, I want ALLETE and Minnesota Power to stay invested in Minnesotans, not be bought out by trillion dollar investment firms. This proposed private equity acquisition is clearly not in the public interest, as found by Administrative Law Judge Megan J. McKenzie, and I urge you to deny the proposal. The ALJ Report's findings demonstrate that the proposed buyout's alleged benefits are unproven, and that its risks and harms outweigh the publicly touted benefits, resulting in net harms. The evidence shows that the the deal would not guarantee access to capital, is likely to contribute to dramatically higher rates, may threaten Minnesota Power's compliance with the Carbon Free Standard, and would result in a loss of local control and reduced transparency. Because of these net harms, the ALJ's findings conclude that this proposed deal is not consistent with the public interest. The Minnesota Department of Commerce, which had previously opposed the deal, unfortunately has proposed a "settlement" with Minnesota Power and the Partners; but this settlement only purports to mitigate the risks of the acquisition and actually does very little to protect ratepayers and all Minnesotans from harm. For these reasons and more, I call on our Public Utilities Commission to deny the proposal. Thank you for considering our collective needs while you make decisions that will impact me, my household, my neighbors, and my community for years to come.

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