One of our DFLEC resolutions asks for increased oversight of member owned electric cooperatives in Minnesota.  The realization that this is needed came recently to several climate change activists, working across a range of organizations, when Great River Energy decided to sell, instead of close, a dirty coal plant  in North Dakota.  At the same time, GRE seemed poised to give up on the use of a very high tech DC transmission line that we all thought was going to be used to bring abundant wind-generated electricity from one of the most consistently windy parts of the world to the Twin Cities.

During that kerfuffle, outlined at the time here, activists, including citizen board members of some of the state’s coops, realized that a) these entities are not closely watched by the public utility commissions or any government agencies because b) member stakeholder citizens run them so why would that be needed, but c) somehow that was not working, and decisions were being made and pushed through that the members did not want.

Thus, the resolution: ” Support legislative oversight of Minnesota’s member-owned electric cooperatives to improve transparency and ensure there is opportunity for input from members before key decisions are made that affect asset management, member payments, or climate impacts. ” (PDF here)

In case this is an area of interest for you, and you want to support this resolution at your Precinct Caucus on February 1st, or otherwise advocate for this cause in our upcoming legislative sessions, here are some bullet points that go beyond those listed with our resolution here on our resolution page, or on the above referenced PDF.

• Rural electric cooperatives were created through the 1936 Rural Electrification Act as a part of the New Deal. At the time less than 10% of rural communities and farms were electrified, by 1950 electric cooperatives had electrified 80% of those communities. Rural electrification is one of the most successful federal programs in history. Today in Minnesota, 85% of the state’s geography gets its electricity from rural co-ops, 2 million Minnesotans dependent on that service.
• Electric cooperatives are run by boards elected from their members (their customers).Sadly, since their creation many cooperatives have not accomplished their mission as democratic institutions.
• Several decades ago a popular rural state senator wrote and led the passage of a law removing rural electric cooperatives from oversight of the MN Public Utilities Commission.  Today, he views this as “the worst mistake of his career.”
• Today Minnesota’s electric cooperatives are only accountable to their local boards, who in many cases have a failing track record of being transparent to the public and often make decisions outside of their members best interest. When they act negligently there is virtually no state oversight to hold them accountable.
• Currently Great River Energy (a group of 28 local cooperatives) is making a major energy decision that will impact Minnesota members and our climate for decades to come. The potential sale of member assets that will result in a long-term contract for a coal plant will lock nearly 2 million Minnesotans into coal generated electricity for years to come.
• The sale of Coal Creek is contingent on the PUC approving the transfer of ownership of the HVDC power line that members have paid for over decades with an additional $130 in recent upgrades. Some 800 members of GRE wrote to the MN Public Utilities Commission to voice their concern for the lack of transparency, climate, and financial impacts of the sale.
• The Build Back Better Act offers new programs and incentives for electric cooperatives to make the transition to clean energy. We need public oversight to assure co-op leaders are acting in the public interest.
• Electric cooperatives put up unnecessary barriers to their members wishing to generate their own electricity and to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses.
• Electric cooperative Boards are democratic institutions that should be operating in the public interest and in the interest of their member owners.
• Standardized co-op transparency and democracy practices that will protect co-op democracy, accountability, and improve member involvement.
• Legislative oversight would create standardized co-op transparency and democratic practices that will protect co-op democracy, accountability, and improve member involvement. It would treat rural electric cooperatives like other utilities by applying similar oversight.
• Treat rural electric cooperatives like other utilities by applying similar oversight.